


A Second Chance

by MaxiBrux



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: All 100 characters will appear, Canon-Typical Violence, Lovable Character Deaths, Medical Trauma, Minor Character Death, Multi, Rape Aftermath, Time Travel Fix-It
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-24
Updated: 2020-04-22
Packaged: 2020-09-25 21:35:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 35
Words: 186,251
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20378482
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MaxiBrux/pseuds/MaxiBrux
Summary: Bellamy Blake is shocked when a young woman tells him that she knows about his secret sister.  He is even more surprised when his sister knows the woman, and delinquents who are in the sky box.After talking to both Raven and Octavia the three of them concoct a plan to save all of the Blake family and to keep as many of their people alive as possible once they get to the ground.How many changes can they make?Can they avoid the catastrophe of praimfaya?How many more people remember the previous life?





	1. First Contact

**Author's Note:**

> I know there are many wonderful time travel fix it stories out there, the one by ScarletSprings is my favourite, but this is my take. If I miss something important from canon, or I don't follow my story points properly, please let me know.  
I am from the UK so tend to use English grammar rather than Americanisms so if I am unclear at any point, also let me know.

Bellamy Blake had never thought of himself as being slow on the uptake. In fact he had always thought that he was rather quick witted, able to find a way out of the many tight spots he often found himself – stealing food and medicines to give to his illegal sister, delaying surprise inspections so that Octavia would have time to hide and preventing girls from getting too close in case they got suspicious; but now, now it was being made quite clear that there was definitely something going on that he had missed: something that affected him and his family and he needed to get to the bottom of it.

He had noticed a very attractive older girl, maybe even a young woman, looking at him as if she expected something from him, something that he had no idea what it could be so he inevitably disappointed her. She had even bumped into him once and tried to engage him in conversation and he was positive that she wasn’t flirting with him. Bellamy’s only thought was that suspicions about him and his family had been raised and that she was probably a mole tasked with getting close to him to find out for sure if the suspicions were valid; he was therefore very brusque in brushing her off. What was her name? Raven, that was it, Raven something or another.  
Given that he thought that he might be being watched he decided that he couldn’t take Octavia to the masquerade ball that night afterall. When he went to talk to her to explain why he wasn’t doing so she surprised him.  
“It’s just as well” Octavia said, “there’s going to be a solar flare and IDs will be checked.”  
Bellamy assumed that it was just Octavia trying to convince herself that it was for the best and thinking of things that could go wrong; but that was just wishful thinking. There had indeed been a solar flare and all IDs at the masquerade were checked. How had Octavia known? Was it a lucky guess? It had to have been, a coincidence that that was the very scenario that Octavia had used to get over the disappointment of not attending. He had, however, agreed to walk past the large window with her so that she could get her first view of the earth. Octavia’s response had surprised him again. She had just touched the window and whispered “I’m coming home soon” which Bellamy had thought odd since they had already agreed that as soon as she had seen the earth she would go back to their home.

Bellamy had just pushed the rations to the prisoner in solitary when he felt that he was being watched again. He turned around and there was that Raven girl, woman, whatever, staring at him and ignoring the teenaged girl she was apparently visiting. As Bellamy walked past, Raven turned to him and asked “Did you talk to her?”  
“I beg your pardon?” Bellamy needed clarification as to what she was on about.  
“Clarke, did you talk to her?”  
“I’m sorry, but I have idea who you are on about. I don’t know any Clarke.” Bellamy was really starting to get annoyed by this Raven’s persistence.  
“Clarke Griffin, in solitary” Raven seemed to think the expansion cleared everything up.  
“No, if she’s in solitary we’re not allowed to talk to her; and why would I want to?”  
“But you didn’t take Octavia to the masquerade, I looked in case you needed help but you weren’t there and why would you not be there if you didn’t know?” Raven seemed to be getting irritated at the point that Bellamy was clearly missing.  
“I’m sorry, but I have no idea who you are on about, I don’t know any Octavia either.” Bellamy was now terrified: they even knew her name.  
“Just tell her that Raven didn’t get together with Finn and didn’t go space walking so he’s not here, and let her know who is in solitary. If that means anything to her, come find me, I’ll be around.” At that Raven turned to her companion and said “I’ll come and visit again when I can, Harper” and she left.  
By the time Bellamy entered his family’s housing unit he was on the verge of panic. Octavia opened her mouth to start talking but Bellamy quickly shook his head and put his finger to his mouth indicating she should be quiet. Being able to detect her brother’s unease, Octavia sat calmly on the bed and waited.  
Bellamy changed out of his uniform, checking carefully for possible bugs and found nothing. He then put some music on; awful tinny sounding tunes from the piece of crap tablet that his family was allocated. He turned the volume up as high as it could go and spoke very quietly to Octavia.  
“I think someone is on to us. I was approached a woman called Raven and she told me to tell you that she didn’t get with Finn and since they didn’t go space walking he didn’t get arrested. She also said to tell you that Clarke someone or another was in solitary.”  
Octavia jumped up and looked so excited. She opened her mouth to talk and most unlike her, she took a deep breath and calmed down, sitting back next to Bellamy to talk quietly to him, just as he did her. “When did Raven make contact? Did she say anything else? What about Clarke; does she know too?”  
Clearly the names Raven and Clarke meant something to Octavia. “Do you know these people, O?” When Octavia nodded Bellamy asked “Do you also know Finn and a girl called Harper?” At which Octavia nodded again.  
Bellamy sat with his head in his hands wondering what he could do; where it had all gone to pot.  
“Do you think you can bring Raven here to talk to us?” Octavia asked and when she saw Bellamy look askance she added “and ask her if she knows how to check for listening devices if it’ll make you feel better. If you want, before bringing her here, ask her a few questions and let me know her answers and I’ll tell you if I think it safe.”  
“Okay, but what questions?”  
Octavia took a moment to think of what questions she could ask that would show beyond all doubt that Raven knew it all just like she did.  
“Ask her the name of the love of my life and of my greatest enemy, what they called the death wave and if she is dating Wick.”  
Bellamy was astounded at the questions. How could anyone know the name of the love of Octavia’s life when she hadn’t supposed to have met anyone; and how could she have an enemy, and what death wave? When Bellamy mentioned his disquiet, Octavia suggested he ask a question too. He couldn’t think of a single sensible question that he could ask this stranger so Bellamy decided to take a leaf out of Octavia’s book and ask who the love of his life was. Octavia laughed.  
It was all very confusing but he thought it best to get it over and done with.  
Bellamy didn’t have wander very far before he saw Raven with her familiar look of expectation. This time he thought that he would fulfil it.  
“I don’t know anyone called Octavia, but if I did know someone of that name, what would be the name of the love of her life and who would be her greatest enemy?” Bellamy asked.  
This time Raven smirked at Bellamy, pleased to have finally got something to work with.  
“I think that someone called Octavia would belong with someone called Lincoln” and Raven looked to see if the name meant anything to Bellamy, it didn’t. Disappointed, she persevered, “and I think she would have an enemy called Pike who she would, naturally, vanquish with a sword. Anything else?”  
Bellamy hoped this all meant something to Octavia as he asked “What did they call the death wave, whoever ‘they’ are, what’s the name of the love of my life, are you dating Wick and can you find a way to test for listening devices?”  
At that Raven laughed. “Praimfayre, Clarke, the one solitary, not yet, he’s still with Mia and yeah. Since she’s not in skybox we need to come up with a plan, one that keeps you out of trouble. I’ve not found anyone else who knows but I can’t check with Clarke. Contact me when you want to ask me out. And by that I mean get to know each other but not in the biblical sense, been there and so not going there again.” The latter point was mumbled so quietly that Bellamy was sure that he was not meant to hear (a good job that he and Octavia were so used to talking quietly to each other that his hearing was particularly refined). Leaving Bellamy feeling gobsmacked Raven sauntered off.

Octavia was so excited when Bellamy entered their quarters.  
“Tell me everything she said, everything” she demanded of her brother.  
Bellamy was astounded at the look on Octavia’s face when he mentioned the name ‘Lincoln’, and the hate that fired through her eyes at the name ‘Pike’ and satisfaction at the thought of vanquishing him with a sword. Humour was there when he told O the rest, apart from the bit about already knowing him, which he kept to himself.  
Octavia showed Bellamy a scrap of fabric onto which she had roughly sewn five words: ‘Lincoln’, ‘Pike’, ‘Prime Fire’ and ‘Clarke’ and then she started to unpick her sewing, leaving no evidence.  
“Okay, Octavia, what’s going on? It’s clear you and Raven, and possibly this Clarke know something that the rest of us don’t, and it’s obviously important.” As Bellamy tried to demand answers from his previously fairly biddable little sister, Octavia drew herself up and seemed to mature before his very eyes.  
“The morning of the masquerade I woke up after what I thought was a powerful dream: a dream that felt so real, as if it had really happened and I was just waking up as Heda Octavia kom Wonkru and when I saw where I was I thought that this was the dream. Then I saw my appearance, I looked exactly as I did the day of the fateful death wave, tattoos on my upper arm and shoulder” and Octavia lowered her top to show some of the body art, “and battle scars on my arms and stomach” and this time she raised her top to show a violent looking scar on her abdomen. “I pinched myself and nothing changed. I tried to convince myself that the life I was remembering had to be the dream even though I felt and looked older. You came and told me that you had decided that we couldn’t go to the masquerade and I remembered what had happened previously and agreed with not going. Now you’re telling me that Raven is also in the same predicament and we either had the same dream or we somehow travelled back in time.”  
Bellamy thought for a moment. “Tell me what happened in your dream after the masquerade. I’ll try to get hold of Raven to find out if she remembers the same things.”  
And so Octavia told Bellamy the story of the drop ship, the war with the grounders, Mount Weather, ALIE, Pike and the end.  
“That’s why Pike is your enemy, he killed Lincoln, and I helped him. Why is Finn important?”  
“For some reason you took an immediate dislike to Finn but he took an immediate liking to Clarke; but he didn’t tell her about Raven so when Raven came down in an unsanctioned modified escape pod Clarke found out about her and dumped him. Raven tried to make a go of it with Finn but he wouldn’t leave Clarke alone. Anyway, in a fit of anger at both Finn and Clarke you and Raven slept together” and thus something was explained to Bellamy that he hadn’t told Octavia about, “and that drove a bigger wedge between all the parties. When Clarke was taken by the mountain Finn completely lost it and attacked a village killing 18 people, including children. There was no doubting it was him, the remaining villagers recognised him and a death sentence was pronounced. There could be no peace unless Finn was handed over for sentence. Finn gave himself up. Often death is quick but in cases of murder it is by a thousand cuts; and in the case of 18 murders, 18 000 cuts. Finn would have been tortured to death. He was tied to a stake outside the gates for everyone to see and hear and Clarke offered to give herself in his stead since Raven begged her to save Finn. When Clarke could find no other way to save him she killed him quickly instead.”  
Bellamy didn’t know how to take that. How could this girl cold bloodedly kill someone who was close to her?  
“Did Raven kill her?” he asked.  
“No, you wouldn’t let her. You, well everyone apart from Raven, realised that the only alternatives to the quick death Clarke gave Finn was either a long, drawn out tortuous death by 18 000 cuts or full out war. There was no way Finn was going to survive the night. Eventually Raven realised that too and she and Clarke became best friends, like you and Clarke; although we all thought that there was more than friendship between the two of you, the UST was painful at times and we all wondered why you never got together.”  
Bellamy snorted. “Perhaps sleeping with Raven was enough for me.”  
This time is was Octavia who snorted. “Bellamy, you were a manwhore! I think that Clarke was the only girl over the age of 16 that you didn’t sleep with.”  
Bellamy was a little disconcerted as being described as a manwhore. “Perhaps I don’t like her, or she doesn’t like me.”  
“No, at the start you didn’t like her: you thought she was the Princess and you didn’t mean it as a compliment. She didn’t like you because you were making some incredibly stupid decisions but eventually you got over it and came to respect each other and worked together as co-leaders. When something happened to separate you is when things went wrong. You made good decisions when working together, bad ones when solo. It appeared to be so obvious that you were in love with each other. We thought that perhaps you just didn’t want risk spoiling the closeness you had.”  
The next evening Bellamy brought Raven to their home.  
Octavia and Raven took one look at each other and rushed into a hug.  



	2. The Plan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bellamy, Octavia and Raven consider how they can arrange for the three of them, plus Aurora, to get onto the drop ship that will be sent to Earth.  
Once they have that problem sorted, they need to think about how they can organise themselves once they get down there.

As far as the whole of the Arc was concerned Raven Reyes and Bellamy Blake were dating, and were pretty serious. Of course they did nothing to counter the gossip since it allowed for Raven to spend a lot of her free time in the Blake apartment without raising any suspicions.  
With Aurora noticing the difference in her daughter’s attitude and realising that Raven was actually friends with Octavia and felt quite comfortable in talking to her, it became clear to Octavia and Bellamy that they had to tell their mother everything: so with Raven’s help they did.  
“And no one from Factory survived?” Aurora asked.  
“Well, there was one woman who did. She was found clinging to a cliff face and one of the delinquents died helping to save her. Everyone else perished” Raven said.  
“So we can’t leave it to happen and hope we survive?” Aurora persisted.  
“No” agreed Bellamy, “we need to come up with a plan to get all four of us on that drop ship.”  
“I can’t think of a way that would get the four of us on the ship, but if Octavia can be scrunched up in a large crate for up to twenty-four hours I think we can get the three of us on it” Raven offered.  
“Well, that’s better than nothing” Aurora said. “At least I’ll know that both my children survive even if I do not, and that is something that I was never able to be sure of. Tell us your plan.”  
And Raven did.

Four days later Raven and Bellamy highjacked a Council meeting.  
“So very sorry to interrupt but we really needed to speak with you and it really can’t wait” Bellamy said as he and Raven barged into the Council Room.  
Just as the Chancellor was about to call for security Raven said “It’s about the Oxygenation problem. We think we have a plan.”  
That got everyone’s attention. They were invited to carry on.  
Raven began. “I won’t bore you with the details of the problem; I strongly suspect you already know. What we want to do is to take a drop ship, fully loaded with juvenile delinquents, and maybe some other volunteers, along with some equipment and check if the earth is survivable yet. I know it might not sound much, but if we remove 120 people from the Arc that buys a bit more time, and there is always the possibility that the estimates were wrong and we can breathe down there. The flora has renewed itself as we can see and it is always possible that the fauna has too – so we will need some weapons, just in case.”  
“It’s a long shot” Bellamy added, “but we really want to give it a go and we thought that you might agree to including the delinquents rather than others, and we can’t think that you have anything to lose. If we all die, then you have oxygen for a little longer, if we survive, you come down and we can return your stuff to you.”  
“What do you mean ‘return our stuff’?” Marcus Kane asked.  
“Well, we’ll need tents and other things to start off with since it will take some time to be able to build huts, but hopefully, by the time you come down we have the huts built and can return them. We haven’t planned all the details yet, we thought we ought to talk to you with our idea first” Bellamy said.  
“We’ll need to think about it. In the meantime, don’t talk to anyone about this, to do so would be treason” the Chancellor said.  
“My mom already knows” said Bellamy, but she said that she wouldn’t talk to anyone about it because no one would believe her. I’ll re-iterate the point, I promise she won’t talk.”  
“She’ll be floated if she does” Marcus Kane said matter of factly.

Four days later Raven and Bellamy were called to meet with the Council.  
“We agree to go with your idea” the Chancellor said. “There will, however, be some conditions.”  
“Okay” encouraged Bellamy.  
“There will be 100 delinquents to include a medic. You can choose the other 99.”  
“But a drop ship holds 120” inserted Raven.  
“We will allocate the other 18 places” said Marcus. “From now on the two of you are assigned to a special project. You may begin choosing the 99 delinquents using their records and determining what supplies you think you will need. As you say, if you end up dying then they will be of no use to us in the long run. However, if you survive and we come down, we will be living in the huts and you will return to the tents until all the non delinquents have homes built for them.”  
Bellamy was about to argue at the unfairness of that when Raven grabbed his arm to shush him.  
“We can work with that, but only if you come down near to our landing site, we can’t very well move huts to where you want to live. Also, if we’re going to have to build homes for everyone, we’re going to need some help. I know that you want to make sure that people don’t talk so is there a way that some of skybox can be kept apart from the other inmates so that we can work with them before hand? We’ll need someone to study ancient woodwork to make furniture as well as homes, plants that have healing properties, ones to avoid, what berries are safe to eat, how to make a fire and how to cook on it, all sorts of things that would be too much for us to do on our own.”  
Jaha and Kane leant towards each other and had a quiet conversation.  
“We can have two rooms, each able to accommodate four delinquents for your use. Tablets with computer access will also be available. One of you two will have to scour the library to see if there are any books that might have information to help and scan it into the system. We’ll make available a goodly amount of metal for you to fashion into whatever tools or cooking implements or other things you think you will need. We can provide a small amount of synthetic rubber as well. Is there anything else?” asked Marcus Kane.  
“You mentioned a medic” started Bellamy, knowing full well they were referring to Clarke Griffin, “if he or she is in lock up, what experience could they possibly have for you to mandate their inclusion?”  
“She is a qualified medic and was part way into her doctoral apprenticeship” said Dr Abby Griffin. “She is well versed in stitches and setting broken bones, which we expect to be the main medical needs you will have.”  
“I’m assuming she can do that with the medical equipment that is in the Arc, but won’t be available on the ground. Are there any medical texts that would be useful for her to have? Will she be able to insert contraceptive implants, treat anaphylactic shock, remove an appendix? There are a number of everyday medical issues that might come up that it would be helpful if she could have guidance even if she has no experience.”  
“You make some good points” noted Dr Griffin. “We’ll make sure that all the females have a working implant for at least two years before you go down so you won’t need to worry about pregnancies. I’ll see what I can find to help with the theoretical knowledge to cover as many eventualities as possible, and will make sure you have a fully equipped medical kit. Anything else?”  
“Not off hand, except when will you tell us about the others who will be coming down with us and who should we liaise with as things occur to us?” asked Raven.  
“When we have an agreement of who the others are, we’ll let you know so you can plan how to accommodate them and I shall be your liaison officer” answered Kane. “In the meantime, this tablet has access to the records of the skybox inmates so that you can choose your 99 and who, out of those 99, you want to help with your preparations.”

Bellamy and Raven studied the details of all the delinquents in the sky box, tying up what they read with what Raven and Octavia remembered. They discussed the issues with taking under fourteens, in particular Charlotte. They decided to ask for a meeting with Kane to raise their concerns with their choices.   
Before Bellamy and Raven could begin with their questions Kane handed over a tablet with a list of names with the word ‘orphan’ after each and their age.  
“This information has been sent to the tablets you already have. These seven orphans will join you in the drop ship. We have yet to allocate the remaining eleven places although we do have some people in mind.”  
Bellamy and Raven looked over the list and were shocked at the age range. It stomped right over their concerns about taking delinquents under the age of fourteen. They began a whispered discussion about their response. Raven finally got her way and Bellamy calmed down.  
“I have to say we already had concerns about choosing to take under fourteens, this just adds to them. We are not equipped to look after such young children. You have made it clear that this is one area we have no choice over and we need to go back to look at the list of those we were planning to take. However, we have picked the eight delinquents we want to help with the preparations.” Raven tapped on her tablet and sent the list to Kane.  
“Raven has also just had a good idea. As I said we are not equipped to look after such young children; but my mom could come. She already knows the general idea of the plan and has so far kept her counsel; she is a fine seamstress so could undertake repairs to clothing and make new ones as the children grow and she could be the primary carer for the youngsters. What do you say?”  
Kane thought for a moment and then he indicated his agreement and added Aurora Blake’s name to the list of departing non delinquents. “Anything else?” Kane asked.  
Raven and Bellamy looked at each other before Raven nodded to Bellamy to go ahead.  
“Is the medic Clarke Griffin? I ask because if it is, I want to raise a concern we have, if it isn’t, then no problem.”  
Kane knew that it would be best to be honest even though the Council had not wanted that information to get out at all. “Yes.”  
“Well in that case we need to come up with a plan to make sure that young Jaha does not find a way onto that drop ship.”  
Kane started in surprise at what Blake was suggesting.  
“It is only gossip that has been picked up, but word has it that he would do anything for her, and that includes putting himself in the line of fire if he thought it would help her. So if he got word of the landing he would want to be with Clarke and who knows what he would do to board the ship. And if he were somehow successful, his presence would only endanger himself and Clarke so it is imperative that he not be there.”  
“Why would his presence endanger himself and Clarke?” Kane picked up on the oddest point as Bellamy and Raven looked at him as if he were daft.  
“The Prince and Princess would not be welcomed or liked by the rest of the delinquents. Clarke would be safe enough since she would bring desirable medical skills and that information would soon be made clear to everyone. Even in factory it was known that the Princess was a med prodigy. Jaha, unless there is something we don’t know, has no useful skills that would outweigh the defect of him being the son of the Chancellor who floated most of their parents, locked them up and sent them to earth; and that takes into account that he is known to excel in Earth skills, it is theoretical not practical. Life is going to be tough enough without adding an avoidable problem.”  
“I’ll talk to him, and get you involved if he finds out about the landing. The last thing we need is someone doing something stupid for love.”  
Bellamy and Raven smirked as got up to leave the meeting. “I’ll tell mom the news when I get her alone. I think she’ll be relieved to know that if I’m gonna die, she goes with me.”

Raven and Bellamy were sat in a room with Monty Green, Fox Jones, Jasper Jordan, Harper McIntyre, Nathan Miller, Zoe Monroe, Sterling Moss and John Murphy.   
“Word is being put out that you all appear to have caught some sort of infection and are now quarantined. What we are about to tell you, and what we do is classified and if any of you even hint at what’s happening, you and the person you let on to will be floated forthwith: no hearing, no time to apologise, just immediate death and it won’t matter that you are under eighteen. If anyone is left who asks questions, they will be told you died from the infection you have.” Bellamy let that warning sink in with everyone.  
Raven took the reins: “The Arc is dying. Unless a miracle occurs, everyone on board will be dead within a few months maximum. There is a problem with the oxygenation that we can’t fix. The more people on the Arc, the sooner we run out of oxygen. That is why a drop ship with 120 people on board will be sent to the earth to find out if it is possible to survive there. You eight, and us two, will be amongst the 120 on that ship. Any questions about what we have told you so far?”  
“And if we don’t want to go and would rather take our chances up here?” asked John.  
“As soon as the ship leaves the Arc, the Council will announce a new policy that will lower the age of criminal responsibility to sixteen. Only crimes committed by those under the age of twelve will be considered for review. I believe that none of your crimes were committed under the age of twelve which means that you will either be dead within a few days of our departure, or on your sixteenth birthday. You will still be kept segregated from the rest of sky box in the meantime. Anything else?” Bellamy asked.  
“Who are the other 110 going?” asked Monty.  
“There will be another 92 delinquents and seven young orphans who will not be informed before we go, my mom will be the guardian for the orphans in the first instance and we have yet to be informed who the other ten will be and have no idea why they will be selected.”  
“Why have you told us?” Nate asked the important question.  
“Because we want to survive and live once we get down there, and that means we’re going to need help. Despite Earth kills classes we have very little knowledge that will help us survive on earth in what will be primitive times. We will need to learn how to build houses out of trees, how to cook over an open fire, hunt and dress our meat, if there are animals down there, know what nuts and berries are safe to eat, what would make a good pain killer, how to make clothes, everything that they had to do before the industrial revolution we have to learn. The Council said we could choose eight people from skybox who we wanted to help study and prepare for life on earth and you’re the eight we chose. If you decide that you don’t want to come, then we ask that you help the others learn since you’re going to be stuck here regardless.”  
“Oh, wow, I’m in” said Zoe.  
“Yeah, why not? We have nothing to lose” said Harper.  
“How do we know you’re not lying?” asked John.  
“You don’t. You’ll find out about the drop ship when we go, as for the rest, do you really want to take the chance?” Bellamy asked. “If you want, I can ask Kane to come and talk to you but do you really think we would be allowed here telling you this if wasn’t all true?”  
There was some grumblings amongst the eight delinquents but they soon all seemed to come to some agreement to at least play along.  
Raven handed out the study assignments. “You are being paired off so you can either work together, or divide your area in sub parts and work separately, or even swop but let us know if you do that. But you must make sure that your partner knows as much as you and you have to keep us informed. You can spread the knowledge amongst yourselves, too, you know to brain storm and chat, and to be honest, some of your areas will overlap. You need to consider your subject matter in three separate, but connected parts: how to survive the first winter we are down there since we will have just a few weeks, three months at most, before the onset of winter; how to live not just survive through the next year or two after that; and how to thrive not just live in the longer term. Also, if you can think of any reason why we should, or should not, include anyone you know from Sky box, let us know. They can’t form part of this little group, the Council has said eight only, but we still need to finalise some to be included in the ship.”  
“What are you two doing while we’re doing all this study prep?” Nate asked.  
Bellamy nodded to Raven and said “You first.”  
“I’ll be making tools, cooking pots, spits, nails, tent poles, water pipes, anything that I can make that we’ll need. I’m also going to try to make a flute and a trumpet so if you know anyone who can play, let us know.”  
“I’m going to be preparing maps, looking for places near to where we’ll be that might have some supplies that could be useful to us, and giving myself an over view of all your subject areas so that I don’t come across as a complete idiot when you tell us all you’ve learned and formulating questions that need to be answered. I will also prepare an initial plan of action for our immediate arrival” said Bellamy. “The good news is that you now have upgraded rations. I’m not sure that they’re much of an improvement, but I guess it’s better than nothing. Further good news, provided you know your stuff, and can handle the responsibility you could be put in charge of a little section when we get down there.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The whole story would be so much better if the delinquents were better prepared but there was no way that I could foresee all of those going down being allowed to know in advance what was happening so this was my compromise.


	3. Coming Together

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Plans and people begin to come together to make the future on Earth look possible.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New characters are mentioned, some of whom will play important roles in the future so make sure you don't forget them!

The eight enjoyed their assignments. No one wanted to swop but they did agree that they needed to work together where their areas over lapped. They all thought that the improved rations were welcome and they liked their bigger rooms, even though they had to share with three others rather than the one. Unfettered access to their tablets was also welcomed.  
Then they got a shock: gym clothes and equipment were brought in.  
Bellamy walked in dressed in shorts, t-shirt and bare feet. He indicated the pile of clothes and told them all to change. Grumbling at the lack of privacy they all self consciously took off their outer wear and donned their shorts and t-shirts.  
“Get used to seeing each other in underwear” Bellamy said. “Privacy is going to be a luxury and unless everything goes unbelievably well you will be sharing sleeping quarters with both sexes during the first winter. That does not mean it’s an excuse to ogle or grope people. We’re all people who are deserving of respect. However, it won’t do any of us any harm to work on our bodies. We do not know what we will have to face down there. We do know we will have to carry out a lot of physical work and we cannot ask others to do something that we are not able to do ourselves.”  
So Bellamy led the eight adolescents through a round of exercises designed to show everyone their current physical limitations and working out what needed to be done to get fitter and stronger.  
“No showers” yelled Bellamy. “There won’t be showers on earth for a good while so you have to get used to the smell of body odour, wearing clothes that have not been washed for a week and finding ways to keep your nails short and your hair tidy. Get your breakfast and I’ll tell you what I’ve found out.”  
The eight adolescents changed back into normal wear. The girls all cringed as they were doing so while the boys didn’t seem to care.  
“Everyone going down on the ship will be wearing underwear, socks, pants, a tee shirt, over shirt, jacket or sweater and sturdy guard boots. They will be given a bag into which will be three pairs of socks and underwear, two tee-shirts, one over shirt and pants plus either a jacket or sweater. There will also be one toothbrush, a tube of toothpaste, a small towel, one bar of soap and a rag for personal hygiene care. There will be a little extra room in which you can add something or things of your choice. You eight get to choose what goes in your bags, everyone else will get what is given to them but you can help to choose for them.”  
“I’d like a hair brush and some hair ties” said Zoe.  
“Ooh yes, and some more soap” said Harper.  
“Definitely. Some packs of cards perhaps” added Fox.  
“A football” said John.  
“Ooh, can we take …?”  
“Nothing illegal” Bellamy interrupted Jasper.  
“What about a music player?” Jasper completed with a smirk.  
“I think that can be arranged. What I want you to do is prepare a list that you want us to try to get for everyone and we’ll fit them in their bags as best we can, okay?”  
“From what you’ve said, it sounds like it’s going to be a lot of hard work down there, so I think we need to make sure we take stuff that will help us relax sometimes otherwise we’re just going to end up resenting you and the Council even more” Sterling said.  
“I know you’re right which is why I want you to think of the luxury items to take. You will only have to pack for the other delinquents though.   
“Now, although Raven and I are more or less the co-leaders in the planning, once we enter the drop ship Raven is abdicating to lead the Engineering. We did discuss whether there should be another co-leader or if it should be just me and we decided that we need another since power can corrupt and having someone to keep me in check should be a good thing. The person has already been chosen but I’ve been told I can’t say who it will be. Raven and I also thought that there should be an under tier just in case we can’t agree or something happens. I will need to talk to my co-leader before all that is agreed but do any of you have any thoughts?”  
“If you mean something like a Council then you had better call it something else” muttered John.  
“Will you and the co-leader have equal power?” asked Monty.  
“Yes. There will be some areas where she, and yes it is a she, will have more sway, and areas where I will have more, but when it comes to the camp overall then we have to agree. If we can’t agree then we’ll have to bring in our advisors. The idea being that two heads are better than one. We will have to agree certain rules and punishments for breaking them, what ages do what work things like that. If I can’t persuade the Council to let me talk to her beforehand then I’m going to have to prepare an outline of proposals that we can at least implement for the first few days pending review.”  
“Do you know the age range?” asked Zoe.  
“From the list given to me, the youngest is 6 and the oldest is my mom.”   
“I don’t envy the person who has to be teacher” muttered John.

Two days later Raven turned up with some tools.  
“I’m taking all your bed frames so you need to remove your mattresses and place them on the floor. Get used to it because it will still be more comfortable than sleeping on the ground on earth.”  
“Why are you taking our frames” asked Fox.  
“I need more metal to make a protective canopy for the camp fire so it doesn’t go out if it rains and to make a cooking grill. Also I’m making some bow and arrows for hunting.”  
They all agreed that they were good enough excuses and well worth losing a little comfort.  
”You’ll also all have to sleep in the one room or there won’t be enough space to do your workouts” Raven added.  
That one earned a little grumbling.  
“But we can sit on our beds while doing our research” noted Fox in the tone of someone looking for the silver lining.  
As it turned out, they liked sharing a room, it meant that no one was singled out (Nate had been sharing with the girls) and it meant that they got used to seeing each other in their underwear so it soon became a non issue. Respect for the total lack of privacy developed into a close friendship without any sex related issues arising. No one thought that sex would not raise its head at some point, especially once they arrived down on Earth and people thought that they would have something worth celebrating.  
Some nights either Raven or Bellamy would camp out in their room with them using a sleeping bag instead of a mattress.  
The eight delinquents soon began to appreciate that living on the Arc had its good points: they never had to worry about hunting for food; no fruit or vegetables grown on the Arc were poisonous; clothes, threadbare as they were, were given and didn’t have to be made by growing and weaving linen or shaving deer skin; they didn’t have to worry about making fires and keeping them going; and it would never be an issue on where they could sleep. But they all felt that if they could overcome the hurdles of living on a post-apocalyptic Earth, it would be infinitely better than being floated.  
When Raven had finished making the bow and arrows the delinquents were all given some archery practice after watching the recording of an archery tutorial. It came as no surprise to anyone that Bellamy proved rather good at it, but the best by far turned out to be Harper.

Kane gave Bellamy information on four more people who would be in the drop ship: Beppi Mkembi was aged 42 and dying of cancer. He was about to use up his medical allowance and no more help was available to him. Since he had agreed to go to earth he had been granted a medical exception to continue pain relief until the ship left; Molly Higgins was 31 and currently had a broken arm that needed setting; but she had already used up her lifetime medical allowance due to multiple broken bones, cuts and concussions due to domestic violence but she would never press charges. Going to earth was the only way she could be gotten away from her husband and have her broken arm set. Marcus assured Bellamy that provided a natural pain relief could be found down there Clarke would be up for the job. From what Raven and Octavia had said about Clarke’s abilities Bellamy had no doubt that she could do that and more; Philip Rhodes (aged 39) was accompanying his son, Ben (aged 8). Mrs Rhodes had died in childbirth following a problematic pregnancy. Despite advice to abort the Rhodes continued with the pregnancy. Ben was autistic, suffered from epilepsy and had learning difficulties with a developmental age of three to four. Ben had already used up his lifetime medical allowance.  
Bellamy knew he had to get Monty on to identifying a natural seizure control medicine. It was not going to be easy.  
That left six more spots to be filled.  
There was one point that Bellamy wanted to raise with Kane: “My mom thinks that your mom knows how to knit. If that’s true, could you ask if she would be willing to teach my mom? We may have to make clothes down there and it could come in handy.”  
Kane said that his mom could knit and he would ask if she would be willing to give a few lessons.

Kane told Raven and Bellamy that the Council could not agree on whom to ask to go on the ship and wanted their input. Both Raven and Bellamy said that they would be happy to choose six more delinquents but Kane was adamant that there should be only 100. Bellamy decided to try to be a little creative.  
“Charlotte Nevis aged 12 arrested for hitting a guard when aged 10. Charlotte had just seen her parents get floated and was in her family quarters gathering her things when the guards came in to hurry her along and remove her parents property. Charlotte tried to stop the guards from stealing her parents’ things. Why was she arrested instead being given counselling? Why would the guards go in at that time instead of allowing Charlotte a little time to grieve and waiting until she had left the quarters? I think labelling her as a delinquent is wrong and I think you know it. She should be reclassified as a minor orphan and grouped with the others.”  
Kane smirked at Bellamy. “I see where you are going with this, and I think you are probably right in that Charlotte’s loss should have been treated with more tact and respect. Very well, I concede your argument. Any more like that?”  
“Ito Krecsh aged 11. He was arrested at aged 4 for running up to the now Chancellor and smacking him on the backside on a dare from two older boys – Wells Jaha being one of them. That was just wrong on all levels. How could any people who think of themselves as good lock up a four year old for doing something like that. What would have happened if it was Wells Jaha who had done the smacking? He would have just received a telling off. That is what should have happened to Ito. You then floated his parents when they tried to defend their son!”  
“Yes well, everyone was surprised when the Chancellor reacted like that. You have another orphan. Any more?”  
“Chrystal Glass is aged nine. She was arrested for stealing when she was aged six. When a six year old takes something on the instructions of their parent they don’t know that it is wrong. In fact to them, not doing what they are told to do is wrong. Her parents were floated for the stealing. Chrystal should not have had to pay for doing what her parents tell her.”  
Kane seemed surprised by what Bellamy was saying and tapped away on his tablet.  
“This is a mistake. I remember that case. She was not supposed to be arrested she was supposed to be placed with a family. You have a third. Any more?”  
“None that I can think of off hand but I’ll make a point of looking at all the records for those in sky box aged 13 and under. If any occur to me, I’ll message you. Anyone else coming close to using their medical allowance?”  
“Dr Griffin has assured me that baring an unforeseen event no one else is close. The Chancellor has said that he is most impressed with your designs Ms Reyes and wants the specs sent to him so that if appropriate more can be made before the rest of us venture to earth.”  
Raven smirked but nodded her agreement, meaning that she would keep some of her designs to herself, but she would share some.

Bellamy, Octavia and Raven were talking in the Blakes’ room when Octavia started to play with Raven’s hair, plaiting it into the warrior braids that were so practical.  
“If you used a filament of copper wire into each braid you could use the end to tie off each braid” Bellamy said as if it was the most obvious thing to suggest.  
“Ooh, yeah” agreed Raven. “How many actual braids would you usually do, O, ‘coz it would be a good way to sneak some more copper wire down there if we were to do the other girls’ hair that way before launch. We, Bellamy and I, could put a filament or two into each section of each braid and no one would be any the wiser. If it were questioned, we could just say that it was for practical purposes so their hair didn’t get in the way of their studying or exercising.”  
“Don’t forget that it doesn’t need to be washed as often so it saves water, too” Octavia pointed out.


	4. Going Down

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Delinquents plus some others are finally on their way to Earth.

It was the day before the launch. Bellamy, Raven, Octavia and Aurora were very much on edge. They had to plan and time it perfectly to get Octavia on the ship without raising any suspicion and to keep her safe until she could be released.  
“Are you sure you will be okay Octavia?” Raven asked. “You could be curled up in a cramped crate for up to 12 hours. What if you need to pee?”  
“I will only take small sips of my drink and only when I really need to. I can go over 12 hours without peeing but if I need to them I’m just going to have to pee. The cramped quarters don’t bother me at all because I’m fairly used to that. And by the way, I’m not Bell’s sister: I am Octavia Geogiothopadopoulous arrested as a young child and kept in isolation for violent tendencies after both my parents were floated trying to control me. Perhaps I find it hard to deal with people and react badly to the hum of the Arc. I’ll say something about liking the quiet on earth. Of course over time I hope I’ll just have the one name, so much easier to remember and soon everyone will forget that I was ever called anything other than just Octavia.”  
Raven smirked as she thought about Octavia being locked up for violent tendencies and imagined the ways by which those tendencies could, and would, be demonstrated once they reached earth.  
That evening, moving Octavia to the bay where her crate was waiting to be loaded onto the ship took cool nerves. Raven was already in the bay out of sight of anyone looking in the door. Octavia was wearing Raven’s distinctive red jacket similar pants to Ravens and had her hair in the same ponytail that Raven often wore. Bellamy had his hands over Octavia’s eyes and was using his body to disguise the fact that it was not Raven whom he was leading.  
“Patience, Rae, we’ll soon be there. I have a nice romantic evening planned for you so just wait and see” Bellamy said as they were nearing and passing others.  
Octavia did her best to impersonate Raven as she grumbled but allowed herself to be led. Of course she really knew where she was going but had to pretend she was in the dark. When they reached their target, Bellamy nodded to the guard to open the door for him. The guard thinking that he was aiding a tryst just smirked and did as requested. Walking into the room, Bellamy stood behind Octavia, shielding her from the guard’s view, and Raven clearly stated “Dammit Bell, I thought we were going somewhere romantic. The drop ship loading bay doesn’t quite cut for me.”  
“What do you mean, Rae? We have all the comfy sleeping bags and it’s deserted” and Bellamy led Octavia away from the view of the door where she quickly removed the red jacket and passed it to Raven who took her place close to Bellamy while Octavia stood close to the wall behind the door.  
Seeing that they were still being watched Bellamy grabbed Raven and started kissing her. Raven not liking the ad lib started grinding her heel onto Bellamy’s foot. She then broke the kiss, looked at the guard who appeared to be enjoying the show and slammed the door in his face. They moved away from the area that could be seen through the door window.  
Raven showed Octavia the crate that she was to curl up in.  
“There’s holes in the floor and dotted all over but in such a pattern that no one will be able to see inside so you should have no problem with breathing. If anyone opens the bay door curl up in the crate and close the lid. As soon as it would be reasonable for us to retire and we’re sure that no one is watching we can load you and a few other crates so we can spend the night in the ship. Everyone is supposed to start loading at 0700 so no later than 06.30 you’ll have get in your crate and I’ll cover you with this cloth and put some of the sleeping bags on top of you. It won’t be heavy but if anyone were to take the lid off they wouldn’t see you. As soon as it’s safe, we’ll get you off the ship. If Clark remembers no doubt she will help with the subterfuge, if she doesn’t, she will agree to the pretence once it’s all explained to her” Raven explained.  
When it appeared they were alone the three did load a few of the crates, including the one that Octavia was to hide in and they spent the night in the drop ship.   
As soon as she woke at five o’clock, Raven woke Octavia and suggested she void as much waste as she could into a large bowl and Raven would dispose of it. Octavia and Raven both decided that they were going to forget that ten minutes of their lives. Then Raven gave Octavia a fake wrist band to wear so that she would not stand out to the other delinquents.  
Bellamy went to speak to the gang of eight to make sure they were ready. They were nervous and excited and kept rechecking the bags making sure the correct items were in the correct persons’ bag. They had to hand the bag to delinquent as they boarded the ship to store under their seat. Bellamy took charge of Clarke’s bag since he had ensured that there were art supplies as Clarke’s luxury.  
As it turned out, the final three places were not filled, something that grated with Bellamy since it meant that ultimately three more delinquents would die who did not need to just so the Council could have a nice round number.  
Bellamy watched as the wrist bands were attached. The person had to identify themselves as the band was attached, even those who were known to Dr Griffin. Bellamy wondered how the doctor would get Clarke to identify herself if she was knocked out.

Back in the loading bay, all the crates being loaded into the top deck were secured in place so that meant it was time to load those sitting there.  
The orphans, including the three former delinquents, under the care of Aurora were loaded next. Each was given a slight sedative to keep them calm and had help to strap in and store their bag.  
Then came the Rhodes’s; Molly Higgins, Beppi Mkembi and Clarke.   
Bellamy said that he wanted to sit next to her to talk to her when she came to so the seat next to her was saved for him. Knowing that he was never going to get the opportunity again, Bellamy asked Abby if he could go and look at her cell.  
Seeing Dr Griffin’s puzzled face Bellamy explained “Your daughter is an artist and I have no doubt that she would somehow have found a way to make it her own.”  
Dr Griffin assured Bellamy that art was a mere hobby so it was unlikely that the cell would be anything other than standard. Both Bellamy and Abby went to look; each determined that the other would be proved wrong.  
Bellamy was in awe of the detailed work covering the walls, part of the floor and ceiling of Clarke’s former cell. Even though the drawings could only be black and white, and she had never seen the earth (probably) they were incredibly detailed and felt so life like. “And you think Clarke isn’t an artist.”  
Once the top deck was full of assorted puzzled, scared looking adolescents, armed guards stood around telling everyone to remain in their seats and to make sure their bag was stored safely away.  
Raven was closely supervising the storing of the remaining crates on the lower level. They were almost done. It wouldn’t be long now.  
When all seats were occupied and Bellamy was strapped in next to Clarke, the doors were shut and the engines fired. Bellamy closed his eyes hoping against hope that both Raven and Octavia were correct and that this was somehow a second chance for them and not the result of some strange dream they both had.  
The ship was on its way.  
Screens around the walls came to life and the face of the Chancellor could be seen.  
Clarke began to stir.

Clarke woke in agony. She thought that when she last closed her eyes it would be for the final time; that her fight was over. Instead she was still alive; her body sore and aching from the radiation poisoning, her throat and mouth parched from thirst and her stomach angry at the lack of sustenance. Perhaps she had just one more day to fight. Or did she?  
Instead of lying on the floor of Becca’s lab staring at the remains of a hazmat suit she was strapped and seated on a chair dressed in clothes from the sky box. And she was sure she could hear the voice of Chancellor Jaha droning on in the background. That would mean that she was on the dropship hurtling towards earth and seated next to her, when she turned head to look, would be her friend Wells. Was she hallucinating in delirium due to her pain?  
Clarke forced herself to look and see her much missed friend, but instead of it being Wells it was “Bellamy?” Clarke muttered disbelievingly.  
“Oh, good, Clarke, you remember” Bellamy went to grasp her hands, drawing back when he saw the healing wounds. “Is that burns?” he asked talking quietly so no one else could overhear.  
“I tripped and smashed my helmet, bad radiation. Healing now. Thought die because no food or water. Six, seven days now, maybe more. Why you in my dream? Did you not go?”  
“This is not a dream. This seems to be a second chance. I’m told we didn’t have enough oxygen to attach the oxygenator in time. I don’t remember. I thought Raven was crazy when she approached me. And then I talked to O. You were already in solitary so we couldn’t talk to you. O is hidden in one of the crates. When we land we’ll find a way to get her out so she just becomes part of the group. She’s not my sister. She’s putting out the story that she’s been locked up in isolation for as long as she can remember for violent tendencies. Can you say that you occasionally caught a glimpse of her when rations were served or something like that if it ever comes up?”  
Clarke thought it was a good story but realised that it meant there were lots of other changes. Bellamy seemed to realise what she was about to ask because he explained more. “Raven and I persuaded the Council to let us lead a group down to earth. There’s 100 delinquents and some others including my mom; we’ll tell you the details when we can be sure of no interruptions. It’s the second of August so we have a little more time to prepare for everything, but what can we do for you now? We’ll need to think of a story to explain these burns.”  
Clarke thought that one was an easy question to solve. “Say guard thought fun to torture the Princess. Not know about drop ship and with me in solitary who would know?”  
Bellamy hummed his approval.  
“As soon as possible get me to the lake to clean and hydrate and wrap in sea weed. O’ll know what to do. Are there any ration packs? I have no strength without food.”  
“I don’t know how many we have, but I’ll get you one as soon as possible. I take it you didn’t have to go through solitary again?”  
Clarke shook her head, just as the ship hit the atmosphere.  
“O said she woke up the day of the masquerade ball and remembered. Raven woke up on her 17th birthday – the day she first kissed Finn before. She said she kept him as a friend only and refused when he tried to get her to space walk on her 18th so he didn’t get arrested. I think you only just came back because you didn’t need to change anything you did before now.”  
Clarke grunted her agreement with Bellamy’s deduction whilst wondering why she wasn’t able to go back far enough to prevent her dad from being floated when Bellamy and Octavia had been able to stop their mom from dying just as the parachutes deployed and the reverse thrusters engaged.  
“Once we land, you stay here. I’ll get something organised for everyone else, introduce you to my mom, and release O. When I think it safe, we’ll take you to the lake, okay?”  
Clarke, barely still conscious, could only nod her head in agreement and let her thoughts go where they may.  
How was it possible that three women, Raven, Octavia and herself could somehow travel back through time, to different points and relive what was the end of the world? Could the three of them make the right changes to make sure that humanity survived the forthcoming apocalypse? Why just those three? Was it possible that more people on the ground or the Arc were living through a second chance? If so, how would they be able to tell? Who else could need to make changes to keep humanity going? Could Lexa also be living through a second chance? What did Clarke want to do about Lexa, whether or not she remembered? What specifically could Clarke do to make things right?  
‘Ughh!’ Clarke thought, it was all too much for her exhausted brain and she succumbed to slumber.  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Clarke's point about not being able to save her dad will be addressed later in the story. I did want to keep him alive, for Clarke if no one else, but I just couldn't do it - sorry to those who liked Jake. I haven't decided if there's going to be Kabby or not yet, either way it won't really affect the plot but I am very ambivalent about their relationship.


	5. Back on Earth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang land on Earth and begin their great adventure. Clarke learns of some of the differences between their first trip and this second chance.

The next time Clarke woke up she was greeted by the smiling Octavia.  
“Hey, nice of you to join us” Octavia grinned as she held a ration pack to Clarke’s mouth. “Bell said that you’ve not eaten or drunk anything for days and that your burns need treating. When you feel able to move, I’ll help you to the lower level and then me, Bellamy and Raven will get you to the lake with the sea weed. Bell’s organising everyone now to start setting up the tents and prepare a fire pit etc. He said we should have ration packs for lunch but he wants me to go hunting this afternoon, I’ll take Harper and Murphy with me since they were the best at Archery so we should get plenty” and Clarke phased out what Octavia was saying while she relished the feeling of sustenance in her stomach.  
“I’m okay now, Octavia. How long have we been down for?” Clarke asked.  
“Just over an hour. So far I’ve been acknowledged by Raven and Mrs Blake, and for some reason Mr Mkembi smiled at me and asked how I was feeling after my long incarceration. I have no idea who he thinks I am but I said something jokingly about being in isolation was nice and peaceful. Some of the others were around so they got a bit of my story. Even if it all comes out now, what are they going to do?”  
Clarke snorted but thought that it was better to be safe than sorry. Octavia held out another ration pack and this time Clarke was able to feed herself.  
Once Clarke was on the ground again, she sank to the earth in relief. She did not think that she would ever get to smell the rich woodsy odour again; or feel the fresh untainted breeze as it sent her hair into disarray. It was good to be back.  
Bellamy lifted Clarke into his arms and strode out towards where Octavia had indicated was the required lake, followed by Raven and Octavia. Both Raven and Octavia noted that the ship had landed in a slightly different position than before, luckily closer to the stream that Raven wanted to use for their fresh water in camp even though it was a little further to walk to the lake. Once they arrived everyone stripped to their underwear, Octavia and Raven assisting Clarke, and entered the lake, Octavia with a sword at the ready.  
“Where did that come from?” Clarke asked, indicating the sword.  
“I made it as a surprise for her” Raven was smug. “I knew it might come in handy especially since she knows how to wield it.”  
“The balance isn’t quite right, though” Octavia complained. “I’ll have to work on that if I want it to feel natural.”  
Clarke, supported by Raven, was lying in the cool water, soothing her burns and ingesting small sips to hydrate. Bellamy was collecting the sea weed.  
“Here we go” muttered Octavia. “Move on out for a bit just in case, but it looks like we could be serving serpent for dinner.”  
Raven and Bellamy helped Clarke to the shore as they all watched Octavia calmly stand as a dark shadow made its way towards her. Bellamy, not used to this Octavia, clearly wanted to order her out of the water too. It was the confident stance and the sure way that Octavia held the sword that stilled his words.  
A quick downward thrust and the water around Octavia was tainted red. She bent to lift out the body of the serpent. “I wonder what it tastes like” she said.  
The three air dried and wrapped as much of Clarke’s body as they could in the sea weed and redressed. Bellamy carried a bucket of the weed while Raven and Octavia offered some support to Clarke as they made their way back to the camp.  
“You’re not limping” Clarke observed to Raven.  
“No, I woke up and fell out of bed in agony. Your mom thinks that I somehow got a fragment of metal embedded in me when I was young and the fall out of bed caused it to move and give me such pain. She removed it and I recognised it as a bit of shrapnel that must have been missed. After a bit of physiotherapy I was fine. I still can’t run the same way as I used to, though and there is a slight but constant ache. Still, it’s much better than it was before. What about you, still a nightblood?”  
Clarke hadn’t given that any thought but asked Octavia to cut her finger to check. Lo and behold Clarke was still a nightblood. “I think we shouldn’t tell anyone about this, especially about how it came about” said Octavia. When she saw Bellamy was about to ask her to explain, she went on “Nightblood was invented by Becca as a way to deal with the radiation. To the people on the ground, those with nightblood are special and only they can become the Commander. They choose their commander by fighting to the death, hence me suggesting that no one else knows that Clarke is a nightblood in case they try to take her to join the other nightblood novitiates. If it were to ever come out that Clarke is nightblood we should keep it quiet as to how she got it because they see it as a special gift from the gods and to artificially create it is sacrilegious. If, as happened in the past, we may want Clarke to become the Commander, so we make sure they have no reason to reject her.”  
Octavia was correct, but, if as Clarke thought, the nightblood gave her some protection from the radiation of praimfayer, shouldn’t they try to give it to others? She asked as much.  
It was Bellamy who answered. “We should try to give some people protection through nightblood but not everyone.” He saw that Octavia was about to argue the point so continued. “After the death wave there will be nothing left to live off. Radiation levels may have dropped sufficient after five years to allow us to breathe, but it will take many years, decades to get to the point that there is new life. It is hard, but saving only a few humans may be the only way we can go on after everything has been destroyed.”  
No one wanted to say so, but they all agreed with Bellamy. If the remaining humans had to fight over few resources then the humans would not survive. It was better to save some humans and some flora and fauna.  
“We need Mount Weather” said Octavia.  
“What happened to the bunker?” Clarke asked.  
“It sounded like the building fell on top of it and the seal got broken. We tried to fix it but we didn’t have the necessary tools or time and the patches we could make didn’t work and radiation seeped in. Within hours everyone was sick. I don’t think anyone would have lasted the week: I know I didn’t. Since we got this second chance, Raven and I have talked about what can be done so that if the same thing happens, the seal remains intact. We also had to discuss what we could do to get out again with goodness knows how much rubble blocking the door.”  
“We three talked about taking Mount Weather before they had a chance to take any of our people” Bellamy started. “I was opposed on the grounds that I didn’t want anything I did in the past life held against me in this one so I couldn’t in all conscience agree to killing all those people for something they might do in this one. I finally said I would approve if we discovered that they were taking grounders and either killing them or turning them into reapers – dehumanising them.”  
“Yeah, that would be a good indicator that they would do the same to us given the chance” Octavia was snide.  
Clarke thought about Bellamy’s words and agreed that it would be wrong to take a pre-emptive strike against the mountain, but yeah, if in this lifetime they were still dehumanising and killing grounders then it was reasonable to stop them on those grounds alone – once they made a treaty with the coalition.  
“Is there any way we can reduce the impact of praimfayer?” Clarke asked. “I mean, can we shut down any of the reactors now before they go into meltdown?”  
“I spent some time looking into that and the simple answer is that it’s not worth it. We can get to two mega reactors on this continent but we can’t get to any of the others. The lessening of the impact by safely shutting down the two we can get to will be minimal and not worth the risk to those having to do it – unless we make and take only nightbloods. That might be feasible” Raven ruminated. “Give me a couple of days to really think about it.”  
“What are we going to do about making peace with the clans?” Clarke asked.  
“Over the next few days you and I are going to make it seem like we think we are being watched, or we see things that can’t be true so we must be imagining” Octavia said. “Then at some point either you or I, or even both of us, will go out and when we’re far enough away from the camp that we won’t be seen we call out to whoever is watching us. We tell the rest of the camp we did it that way in case we were imagining things and we didn’t want them to think we were going nuts.”  
Clarke thought that was a good plan and it would mean that they wouldn’t have to let on that they had information that they were not supposed to possess.

At camp there was the distinct air of excitement and progress.  
A fire pit had been dug and there was the start of an excellent fire being built. The metal stand and canopy had been put together so that once it was lit rain would not put the fire out but would be diverted through a gutter into a water barrel. Dax, Clarke could see, was putting together a contraption that looked like it was a spit with a tray underneath to catch the juices. There was also a large metal grill that would go over the fire. It was definitely better than what they had before.  
“Hey, we caught something towards dinner tonight!” Octavia yelled as she threw down the serpent. “No idea what it will taste like but it might be good.”  
There were some loud cheers.  
Nate Miller came up to Bellamy and Clarke and said that there were two injuries – bad cuts that looked like they would need stitches.  
“Are you up to that yet?” Bellamy asked.  
Clarke held out her hand showing the still healing burns that were already improving, and the slight but distinct tremor. “No, but I can check them for contaminants and bind them so they heal properly, just longer than if I could stitch. I’m much better than yesterday, and tomorrow I’ll be better still so I may be able to do it then.”  
“What happened to you?” Nate asked.  
“One of the guards thought it would be fun to torture the princess in solitary. I think it was some kind of acid but I had already used that day’s water so couldn’t rinse it off until the next and by then the damage had been done. I’m Clarke” and Clarke held out her hand, looked at it before withdrawing with a shrug of apology.  
“Nathan Miller. I answer to Nate or Miller but never Nathan” Nate said as he mimed shaking Clarke’s hand with a wry grin.  
“Nate should be our deputy for when both you and I need to be away from camp, I think” said Bellamy.  
“What do you mean ‘our’ deputy? What has me being away from camp got to do with anything?” Clarke was confused.  
“You seriously don’t think I could be in charge on my own without your cool calm logical head to keep me in line do you?” Bellamy laughed, thinking about the stories of his passed misdeeds. “Raven hated having to be the responsible one keeping me in line when dealing with the Council and the plans so she abdicated overall responsibility to you oh, calm Clarke.”  
“Point taken” agreed Clarke. “Well I can’t say anything to the contrary since most people here are unknown to me, but I do know of Nate from his dad, a good man.”  
Nate smiled and agreed with Clarke’s assessment.  
There was a village of tents and Raven led Clarke to one close to the dropship.  
“You, Octavia and I will share this one. We have sleeping bags this time, enough for everyone. They won’t be warm enough for winter but it’s better than nothing for now.”  
“Everything seems to be better than the nothing we had last time” Clarke said.  
“This time Bellamy and I could prepare and negotiate with the Council. The deal is that when the rest come down we have to let them live in the homes we build and continue to build more, but you and I know that that one isn’t going to happen. As well as the hundred delinquents, and let’s hope no one counts them to find one extra, we have ten orphans, including three who were delinquents but Bellamy negotiated with Kane for them to have their convictions quashed including Charlotte, Aurora Blake who is our resident seamstress and child guardian until you and Bell decide what to do for them, Beppi Mkembi who is dying of cancer and has no more medicine allowance so we need some pain relief for him, Molly Higgins who has a broken arm and has no more medical allowance - when you’re up to it you’re going to have to reset that; Ben Rhodes aged eight who has epilepsy, autism and some learning difficulties so we’re going to need some seizure control for him; and Ben’s father, asshole extraordinaire who has accompanied him.”  
“Wow, as well as stitches and broken bones I’m going to have to expand my knowledge base” said Clarke. “I think I know where we can get something for seizures, I’ll go out with Monty and a couple of others tomorrow specifically to look for medicinal plants.”  
“Oh, yeah. We were able to get a bunch of eight, Monty, Jasper, Sterling, Murph, Nate, Zoe, Fox and Harper to help prepare for the landing. We tried to get Kane to agree to including you but he wouldn’t budge. Just as well since you’ve only just come back. You also have a tablet of your very own, amongst all the medical stuff, which I better take you to so you can look at the two cuts, which Abby assures me has been uploaded with every piece of medical information she can find for you. You can peruse that at your leisure. Once the fire is ready and all the tents are up with sleeping bags Bellamy is going to let everyone have lunch and then start on the wall. You, me and Aurora, necessary job holders, as well as all the sick and injured and children under fourteen are excused the physical work of wall and hut building in case of accident.”   
Clarke could only grunt with approval of those decisions as she and Raven entered the dropship where two young men were sat bleeding.  
Raven looked at the crates until she came across the one marked “Medical” and pulled it towards Clarke.  
There were actually two tablets: one labelled ‘Medical Texts’ and the other ‘Medical Files’. There was also lots of basic medical equipment.  
“Monty thought that used medical materials could be sanitised again.”  
Clarke grunted at Raven’s statement and decided she was really going to enjoy being down on earth this time.  
Using the bucket that Bellamy used to bring the sea weed to camp since it was the only source of water currently, Clarke cleaned the wounds and made pads of the sea weed, which she would make into paste when she found a pestle and mortar, and bandaged them. “Keep them clean and come and see me in the morning” she said as she saw them off. Clarke took some of the weed to dry so that it could be used to make a tea in case it was needed later.

Once everyone was gathered round the now roaring fire Bellamy called order.  
“First up, in everyone’s bag is a rag which I want you all to hand over. You will use leaves that will be placed by the toilet areas and not your rags, unless you want to be washing them after every time you take a shit. The rags will be used for medical purposes.”  
There were some grumbles from the masses who didn’t want to have to give up anything they had.  
“You all also have some non essential items. They are for sharing with everyone so don’t hog them and play nicely!”  
This time there were some snorts from the masses.  
“After we’ve enjoyed this, our very last meal of Arc rations, we get back to work. Octavia Georgio …, Georgiothop …, Georgiotheodop …, never mind, Octavia will take out a small group who will be hunting for meat for us to eat; Clarke Griffin and Monty Green will take out a slightly bigger group to look for nuts and berries to eat and for any medicinal herbs and plants; I shall take out a group to collect some water and Jasper Jordan will take a group to collect large leaves to wipe our bums with at the latrines that Zoe Monroe and Roma Fielding will be setting up. Nate Miller will be in charge here of overseeing the start of building the protective wall. Mrs Blake will be in charge of all children aged thirteen and under except for Ben who is still under his fathers supervision, who are excused wall building work and she will make sure that Mr Mkembi and Mrs Higgins are kept comfortable. Raven is working in the drop ship, attempting to repair the radio and setting up more of our contraptions and she may seek assistance from the older children. Once we have finished the wall everyone will be assigned a job. All jobs will be essential. Not all jobs will be pleasant so they will be rotated, unless you have a particular skill and will be based in that field with shorter time on the other jobs. Even Clarke, Raven, Mrs Blake and myself will do our share of the unpleasant work so there is no excuse for the rest of you to try to get out of it.”  
“What about the children? You can’t expect my Ben to have a job” Rhodes was snide.  
“Even the children will have a job, but their main job will be to pay attention in their classes and learn. Ben, do you think you can do a very important job for the camp?” Bellamy talked kindly to the child. On receiving a most emphatic nod from Ben Bellamy went on to explain Ben’s job. “We have to make sure everyone gets up in the mornings, so do you think that you can go round the camp ringing the bell to wake everyone up?”  
There were groans of disapproval from the masses at the idea of being woken up by a bell, but Ben was nodding very enthusiastically.  
“Good man. When Clarke or I need you to wake everyone we’ll give you the bell each morning. If anyone tells you they can’t get up because they’re sick, then you go find Clarke and she’ll sort them out.”  
“Why do we need a wall since we’re the only people here?” Atom called out.  
“A very good question” said Clarke. “Unfortunately we don’t know what animals are about. Will our arrival attract them? Will radiation mutated predators fancy something a bit different to their usual fare? Until we know it is safe to let our guard down, we don’t. We make sure we do what we can to protect our camp and our people.”  
The grumbling stopped and some started to look around as if they expected large wild beasts to suddenly jump out at them.

Very early next morning, long before the others were awake, Clarke led Bellamy, Octavia and Nate to the former FEMA supply bunker. “I’ve got Raven investigating possible other bunkers in the near area” Clarke said blithely to Nate.  
Nate, not being an idiot, just grunted in agreement and decided to keep his thoughts to himself about how knowledgeable the Princess was.  
Unsurprisingly they hit the motherload with the find of a barrow full of guns and boxes of ammunition.  
“I think this calls for some shooting lessons and to find the best marks men to make sure the guns are only in the hands of those who can handle them” said Bellamy. “I’ll give them all a quick once over first to make sure they’re all working properly, though.” No one disagreed with Bellamy’s pronouncement.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, a fairly dull chapter with scene being set for the main events yet to come.  
Something I'm starting to give some thought to, should Aurora have a love interest along with all the embarrassment that would cause her children? Let me know what you think.


	6. Making Contact

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clarke and Octavia make contact with Trikru and they learn (again) about the dangers they face from Mt Weather.

Clarke went out with Monty and five young delinquents to look for medicinal and edible plants. Of course she knew where she was going and what she was looking for but had to pretend that she didn’t.  
Monty spotted some leaves that he said would be good to ease stings. They could be ground up and made into a paste or they could be just rubbed over the affected area. He didn’t know if they could be ingested as a general anti histamine, but it was a possibility for consideration if anyone developed hay fever.  
When he went to point them out to Clarke he saw her staring up into the trees with a look of concentration. Realising that she was being watched she shook her head and saw what Monty was trying to tell her.  
Monty found some berries that they could eat but no nuts yet. Clarke insisted that enough be taken back for everyone to have some and wondered if someone knew how to preserve them.  
Clarke surprised them by finding some wild potatoes and onions to flesh out their dinner.  
It didn’t take long to find some herbs, both for cooking and healing.  
All seven had plenty to carry back to camp knowing that they had a very successful foraging trip.  
“You okay, Clarke? You seemed a bit distracted” Monty said.  
“Yeah, fine, thanks. I think some of the acid might have gotten to my eyes because I see shapes sometimes, and when I blink, they’ve gone. I’ll have to give them a few more rinses, maybe use some of the seaweed water.”  
Monty just nodded as if her words made perfect sense.  
The next day the same seven plus John Murphy went out again looking for more useful plants, and Clarke showed them how to set a snare, all the while she rubbed at the back of her neck.  
“Your neck bothering you, Clarke?” Murphy asked, surprising Clarke since she was used to the previously surly John Murphy.  
“No, not at all. I just have this feeling of being watched. Do none of you feel it?” Clarke asked.  
“No, but it wouldn’t surprise me to discover that we are being watched by something that thinks we would make a nice meal for it, we should make sure we’re close in groups of at least three, just in case” suggested John.  
Clarke took out just John and one other from the food team to check the snares first thing. They had three rabbits.  
“These will make a nice stew with some onions and potato” John said.  
“And the fur will make some nice hats or mittens for winter” Clarke added.  
“Yeah, I’ll get that to Fox once I’ve cleaned them. D’yer think Zoe’ll want to start breeding them so we have some over winter?” John asked the question, looking to the future of a bleak winter with scarce pickings.  
“It’s an idea. We’ll need somewhere to keep them that they won’t be able to escape from, but still be nice enough that they’ll feel at home and breed. Why don’t you talk to her about it?” Clarke suggested. “You know I said that I thought that we were being watched?” Clarke changed the subject. At John’s nod she continued. “Well I spoke to Octavia yesterday about it and she said the same thing, that she feels like they’re being watched when she leads a hunt. Do you think that it might be because we were in solitary for so long that we went a little on the crazy side?”  
John pondered Clarke’s words, not wanting to say ‘hell, yeah’ which is what he really thought. “Or it is possible that your time in solitary made you bit more sensitive to such things. But it is odd that you don’t feel that in the camp. Perhaps it’s your fight or flight response that is kicking in and you’re not interpreting it correctly since you haven’t used it for so long.”  
“I guess it could be lots of things. Never mind. Let’s get those rabbits ready for the pot.”

That evening, when the camp was winding down and all were meant to be safe within its confines; Clarke and Octavia went for a walk. It was a clear night with an almost full moon so they had no qualms about what they were doing. As soon as they were sure that they would not be disturbed by their colleagues they sat down and drew their knives and Octavia’s sword, putting them on the floor just in front of them and raised their hands.  
“Hello, we know that you’re watching us. As you can see we’ve disarmed; so why don’t you come out and talk to us?” Clarke called.  
There was no response. Clarke looked at Octavia in question.  
Octavia’s smirk told Clarke that Lincoln was indeed close by.  
“We know you’ve been watching us, probably since we landed. You clearly want something from us and it will be easier if we just talk about it – less chance of misunderstandings that way.”  
Clarke waited for a few seconds of no response before she decided to inject a bit of humour. “If you don’t want to talk to us girls, we could always go back and bring a couple of the boys to talk, would you prefer that?”  
As expected that got a response.  
Lincoln fell to the ground just to the side of the two women. He stood tall and folded his arms, showing that he was not about to reach for one of his weapons.  
“Hi, I’m Clarke and this is Octavia. We’ll lower our hands now. Would you care to sit with us? I would offer refreshment but we didn’t bring any with us.”  
“I am Lincoln kom Trikru, that is of the tree clan.”  
“It is very nice to meet you Lincoln kom Trikru. I suppose we should be of the space clan” Clarke deliberately didn’t want to say ‘Sky crew’.  
“We call you Skaikru” Lincoln made clear that it would not change.  
“That’s as good. We were all led to believe that no humans survived on earth after the apocalypse. Our group were sent down to test to see if it was possible to live down here. You see, our former home, a space station called the Arc is dying and soon everyone on it will die unless they can come to earth too. Are there very many of you in the tree clan, and are there other clans? I ask because while our other people will have to come to earth, we don’t want them to cause bother when they do. And if we have caused trouble for you by landing here then I sincerely apologise. We were meant to land on Mount Weather.”  
At that Lincoln snorted and as hoped, informed Clarke and Octavia all about the mountain men and their evils.  
“Unfortunately our radio was damaged in the landing so we can’t contact the Arc yet, but Raven is working on the problem so we can warn them not to land on Mount Weather, and I guess we need to tell them that this place is already home to people and to be careful where they land. Perhaps you could advise on where they could land safely?” Clarke prodded.  
“I shall need to speak with Heda, our Commander. It is Heda who makes all the decisions” Lincoln advised.  
Clarke asked if it would be possible for a small delegation from Sky Crew to meet with the Commander to negotiate a peace treaty. Lincoln indicated that Heda would probably want to meet but he could not offer any other information.  
Knowing that Lincoln was not particularly chatty, Octavia took over the conversation and started to tell Lincoln all about the people in the camp. She told him the truth about her relationship with Bellamy and Aurora and why she had to hide and lie. Clarke and Octavia were both gratified to see the appalled look on Lincoln’s face on being told that Octavia had hidden under the floor for years and what would have happened to her if she were discovered.  
Lincoln offered to show Clarke some healing herbs that she had not yet come across, which she appreciated.  
“We need to tell everyone else the things you have imparted, particularly the warnings about the Mountain” Clarke stated. “Would you be willing to give a brief talk to people tomorrow so that they know that we are not making it all up?”  
“For a little while I will talk to your people but I must report to Heda” Lincoln stated, surprising Clarke and Octavia who both thought that he would refuse.  
Clarke and Octavia returned to camp. They told Bellamy that Lincoln would come to the camp to talk to them. He thought that he should meet Lincoln outside the camp with Clarke and for them to bring him in. Clarke agreed. But it wasn’t just Lincoln who turned up to meet them, Nyko came along too.  
“I have brought Nyko kom Trikru, he is our healer. He is interested in talking to you about your healing methods and abilities.”  
“Hello, Nyko kom Trikru, it is very nice to meet you. I am Clarke kom Skaikru. I am happy to talk to you and to share knowledge but I am only a young trainee and when my mother arrives I shall ask her to talk with you too.”  
“I look forward to sharing knowledge. Here, Lincoln said that you appeared to be covered in burns. This salve should help” and Nyko handed over a pot that Clarke know would help soothe her skin no end.  
“Thank you. This will be a great improvement in my recovery. Lincoln, Nyko, let me introduce you to Bellamy my partner in leading our small group.”  
Lincoln carefully studied the man who had protected Octavia almost his whole life; the only true brother in their whole clan. There was nothing in Bellamy’s demeanour to suggest that he in any way resented the burden of responsibility that he had had to bear. Lincoln also realised that Clarke and Bellamy were so very young to be the leaders of their clan and neither appeared to shirk from the task.  
“Let me go in and call everyone together” said Bellamy. “I shall then say that we have discovered that we are not alone down here and that I want to introduce two of our neighbours. Perhaps after I have said your names you can say a few words, maybe that you wanted to warn us about the men in the mountain, and that you will go and talk to your Commander about us and our desire for a peace treaty. I shall say something about our need to hunt and gather, and prepare for winter, but would be grateful if someone could spend time showing us how far we can safely wander from our camp so as not to impinge on your needs. You can just answer as you would if I asked that in private. Nyko, would you like to say anything to our group?”  
“Thank you, just that I would like to exchange knowledge with your healer so that we can all benefit.”  
Bellamy nodded and headed into the camp area. In a loud voice he called everyone together.  
Clarke, Nyko and Lincoln stepped closer so that they could hear Bellamy but stayed out of sight until they were called upon.  
There many outcries at being told that we are not alone on the earth and that we landed in the territory belonging to Trikru. There was clearly a lot of fear.  
“No need to panic: they have not killed us yet and they have had ample opportunity to pick us off if they had wanted to. I have met with two of our neighbours and they would be willing to come in a say a few words to you; some things that we must be aware of. Clarke” Bellamy raised his voice, “can you bring in Lincoln and Nyko, please? I’m sure everyone here is eager to hear their words.” The latter point was said more in warning to the people of the camp than as a literal truth.  
Clarke walked into the camp, flanked by the two grounders, both larger than most Arc adults.  
“Thank you Bellamy. First I should like to introduce you all to Nyko who is a local healer and has very kindly given me a salve that should help my burns. And to Lincoln who is a … . Actually, I don’t know what you do, Lincoln, other than watch strange people who crash into your territory.” Clarke gave Lincoln the opportunity to say something that he would have no idea that she would know the veracity of.  
“I am a warrior” Lincoln spoke truthfully even though it was with brevity.  
“Ah, so they sent a warrior to watch us in case we were dangerous: very sensible” Clarke cut off any chance for panic to build up in her people at the thought that they had a warrior in their midst. “I suppose it is possible that we may inadvertently cause you some problems, so feel free to put us on the right path if we do start to do something wrong. Perhaps you can tell our people of the things you warned us about, please in case I missed any details.”  
The campers were muttering to themselves in disquiet. Clarke wondered how Lincoln would handle this. He merely looked around the camp and raised an intimidating brow until the buzz died down.  
“People live inside Mount Weather” Lincoln began. “They cannot live outside without wearing special full body suits with helmets. They take people and they are never seen again. They also take people and turn them into reapers. Reapers are vicious, out of control cannibals. We have many theories as to why they would do this, but we do not know. The mountain men also send acid fog. It is deadly to humans, but does not kill plants. We believe they do this so that we cannot storm the mountain. If you hear a horn sounded then you need to take cover. Another horn will sound the all clear. We have certain hunting grounds that you must never enter, or if you do, you do so at your own risk since we have many traps. I will speak to Anya, to ask if we can outline some area for you that will be safe pending formal talks with your people.”  
Clarke interrupted to ask if Lincoln could explain a little about how territories and government were organised on the ground.  
“There are twelve clans in the coalition. We are led by our Heda, the Commander. Our current Heda is called Lexa kom Trikru. That means she was originally from Trikru before she ascended. Each clan is very independent and has its own laws and punishments so if you want to travel you have to know about all the clans. This is Trikru and it boarders the mountain so we are the biggest target for their steals, although all clans have faced losses. We and Azgeda are the biggest clans and until Heda made the coalition we were the bitterest of enemies. Anya is the leader of Trikru. We have named you Skaikru since you fell from the sky.”  
Clarke thanked Lincoln for his explanation and asked the campers if they had any questions for Lincoln or Nyko, “Questions that they can realistically answer, so be sensible” she exhorted.  
“When will winter start since we only have tents at the moment and will need to build warmer shelter, and probably stock up on food?” Nate asked.  
“I cannot offer any promises, but even if the talks don’t end well and you have to leave our territory I think it likely that we will let you stay through winter …”  
“… unless you really piss us off, which so far doesn’t look likely” interrupted Nyko.  
Most people snorted at Nyko’s words, hoping that they were the truth.  
“But”, Lincoln continued, “you should already begin stocking up on food. Our village began preparing over fifty days ago. If you wish, since I know some from our village are eager to meet you, I can ask one or two to show you how to dry and store meat and fruit for winter. You are correct to make sure you build a wall, some animals that do not hibernate will wish to take advantage of the mass of food that is a human. You have less than forty days before the colder weather begins, and about fifty days before hunting and food gathering become very difficult. About thirty days after that it will be impossible. The temperature will drop to below freezing. You must have your warmer shelter ready before ninety days. One camp fire to keep everyone warm will not be enough.”  
“I’m in charge of food preparation” John Murphy said. “I studied what I could but practical help would be good, thanks.”  
Lincoln nodded to acknowledge John’s words.  
“Will us drawing water away from the stream to the west affect you? Until next year all I can do is to syphon water and send it back to the stream further down, along with our waste. Will it affect the local eco system?” Raven asked.  
“No. One hundred humans will have little to no effect on the ecology as long as you are not introducing any poisons” Nyko said.  
“For the time being, we carry on as normal” Bellamy said. “We had always planned for a three stage settlement, so we carry on with stage one of getting through this winter and leaving stage two for spring. Hopefully by then we’ll have finished our talks with the Commander and we’ll know about when the rest of the Arc is coming down. Thank you, Lincoln and Nyko, we look forward to meeting more of your people. Would it be possible for Octavia, Monty and Jasper to accompany you back to your village so they know where it is and people know who they are?” Bellamy asked.  
“You can point out things of interest along the way, too” Clarke added.  
Lincoln and Nyko left the camp attended by Monty, Jasper and Octavia. Unbeknownst to Monty and Jasper, Octavia was there to make sure that they didn’t get lost on their way back and to be their protection in case they ran into something (human or otherwise) that fancied a little taste of Skaikru. Lincoln noted the way that Octavia walked with her sword by her side and he knew exactly why Octavia was there.

When everyone had drunk some of Jasper and Monty’s moonshine (although Bellamy, Clarke, Octavia and Raven had drunk less than everyone else thought they had), and the main gang were sat in a group slightly apart from the majority of the teenagers who were grouped around the camp fire despite it being a warm evening, Clarke started to get everyone thinking.  
“You know how we were always told that the earth wouldn’t be inhabitatable for 200 years after the apocacalipse?” Clarke pretended to be a bit tipsy with her speech.  
“Yeah, well clearly they were wrong” pointed out Murphy.  
“Yeah, but what if they weren’t?” Clarke persisted. “They were supposed to be the smartiest scientists in the whole wide world so how could they have got it so wrong?”  
“I know what you mean” Raven put in, “but they did get it wrong ‘coz people have been living here for ever and we are all still alive.”  
“But what if they were right, but the whole story didn’t get passed down?” Clarke insisted. “Think, we know that there are higher levels of radiation now but yeah it is livable for us, but what if there was something else that was to happen as a consequence of the bombs that would make it so that we couldn’t live here until about another 100 years? What if there was some sort of timer that would set off the rest of the bombs to finish the job?”  
“Clarke, we love you dearly but I think you’re a little nuts” Jasper said earnestly.  
“No” Octavia disagreed, “Clarke was right about us being watched and she is right that it is odd that the best scientists got it so wrong, so what could we be missing?”  
“A meteorite” offered Miller.  
“Ooh, yes. Maybe they knew it was heading for earth and it will wipe out the mammals like the one that wiped out the dinosaurs” suggested Harper.  
There were murmurings from everyone else, most agreeing with the possibility until a moment of silence when Raven said “The nuclear reactors, that’s what they had in mind.”  
“Why do you say that?” asked Bellamy.  
“Unless there was sufficient time to shut them all down safely, and we were told that the launch was sudden which is why the world leaders couldn’t get to their bunkers so it is doubtful that they were, then they would all have a maximum of about 100 years before they would start to deteriorate, heat up and eventually explode” Raven was sombre.  
“So they’re gonna go at any time now?” Fox asked.  
“Maybe” Raven agreed. “I think that we need to consider how we might find out which, if either of our theoretical possibilities are correct. I shall need to be sober to do that so for the time being let’s drink and be merry just in case tomorrow we die.”  
“Hear, hear! I’ll drink to that” Jasper raised his cup.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The gang are starting to implement their long term plans to 'discover' the second praimfayer. Not yet clear, but they also have plans for the Arc that they will start thinking out loud about soon(ish). If you can think of anything they should be doing let me know and I might be able to incorporate them into the story.


	7. Night Blood

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clarke finally donates her marrow to make more nightbloods.

When Clarke had recovered from her injuries and was fully operational as the camp medic, having reset Molly’s broken arm and found an anti seizure treatment that after an initial period of trial and error seemed to be working for Ben, she discussed the first round of bone marrow extraction with Bellamy, Raven and Octavia.  
“I’ll need to talk you through it Raven, will you be okay to do it?” Clarke was concerned that Raven’s memories of having her own bone marrow forcibly extracted and without any anaesthesia would prevent her being able to drill into Clarke.  
“As long as you have some pain killers so aren’t screaming in agony, I should be fine. Who’s going to get the first two doses?”  
Clarke looked at her fellow crew and wondered how they would feel about her proposal. “I want to give the first two to Raven and Beppi” she said.  
“What? Why?” asked Octavia.  
“I know that night blood somehow helps with pain management; and although Raven’s pain is nowhere near the level it was before, I can tell she is still in some pain which is why I want Raven to benefit as soon as possible” Clarke smirked at Raven and acknowledged her grin of gratitude. “I don’t know if it will be of any benefit to Beppi, but I want to use it as a test. At best he has weeks left and if this buys him more time, or helps with his pain then I think it is something that we might want to know for the future. Of course it might not do anything for him, or it could hasten his death so I will talk to him about what and why and let him give the final say.”  
The other three looked at each other and seemed not to be able to come up with a reason not to go with Clarke’s plan. “When will we get it?” Octavia asked.  
“Everyone who receives my marrow, except Beppi in the first instance, should be asked to donate themselves once we are sure that it has taken. No one who receives it from them should donate since we don’t know if there is any weakness with distance from the originator. I should be able to donate again every four to six weeks with no adverse effects. The question is, to whom do we want to give it and to whom do we talk about it?”  
“I don’t think that we should give it to anyone other than us four, mom and Beppi until we know we can trust them” Octavia said.  
“I agree, but for slightly different reasons” Bellamy said. “Anyone getting injured will bleed and everyone in camp will know and there will be no hiding it from outsiders either.”  
Clarke nodded her agreement. “This means that both you and I, O, will need to be very careful not to bleed in front of the wrong people” Bellamy finished.  
“How long can it keep once extracted?” Raven asked.  
“Without the correct equipment, which we don’t have, no more than a couple of days” Clarke answered. “If we are able to make use of Mount Weather’s med facilities then, in theory, it could be kept for as long as we had power. Why, what are you thinking?”  
“As soon as we can we should start extracting and storing so that it can be used in the build up to Praimfayer so that the key people can continue to work up to the last minute, perhaps even go outside once the wave has passed to check and work on external equipment. I don’t think it should be used to increase the population beyond that which we think the earth can sustain” Raven explained.  
“I agree” said Bellamy; “but remember, Mount Weather had been able to sustain a small population continuously for a century and there is no reason to think that with proper management it would not continue to do so. We just have to make sure we can help the earth recover fairly quickly so that people don’t need to die of starvation.”  
“If we can shut down the two mega reactors on this continent then the amount of the earth that should be survivable increases from 4% to just below 10%, the difficulty will be on getting to that 10%, although it is possible that it will include Hawaii and not sure if I would want to live so close to a string of volcanos” Raven added. “To be honest, though, I need access to a better computer system, Becca’s lab would be perfect if we could get there without being assassinated by ALIE’s drones or misled through her hacking of the computers. Not sure if we could reason with her if we could let her know that we’ve destroyed her backpack so there’s no way she could leave the island or create more chips; perhaps she would be grateful for the promise of company if a group of us were to base ourselves there.”  
“We could move some stuff from the house and make a very comfy home in the lab for those with night, no, we should call it black blood so that we differentiate from the Grounders,” said Clarke.  
“I remember the schematics of the lab and there is plenty of room there to create a very comfy base for about 20 to 25 black bloods, especially since it managed maintain power through Praimfaya so Becca must have some special tricks on her island and I’m sure it would be more fun than spending five years stuck on the GoSci ring” Raven said. “Let’s give that some more thought later, first priority, take out Mount Weather and then find a way to keep the majority of the Arc in space.”  
The others could only agree with Raven’s suggestion.

Clarke went to talk to Beppi. She made it clear that the treatment she proposed was experimental.   
“I am almost certain that it will not worsen your condition, but it is a possibility, and it could actively hasten your death” Clarke explained. “I think it is a bigger possibility that it will improve your condition but I cannot even guess as to what degree, anything from easing your pain to eliminating your cancer. There is also the possibility that will have no effect on your health at all. I will not require you to undergo the treatment and will not stop giving you pain management medicine if you do choose not to try it, but I am asking you to.”  
Beppi looked closely at the camp medic, the Arc Princess, the prisoner who spent a long time in solitary and he saw a woman who had more compassion, integrity, strength and conviction than of all the Arc’s Councillors put together in her little finger. “What makes you think that it will make things better?” he asked.  
Clarke gave a rare smile and said “because my face is now blemish free when it should be covered in burn scars.”  
Thinking that he should have realised that point earlier, Beppi agreed to the treatment.  
“There is one point that will definitely happen, but we don’t want anyone else to know” Clarke said as she got a knife and nicked her palm and allowed the black blood to surface. “I’ve had this black blood now for a few months and I can tell you that it had allowed me to feel less pain and recover from all sorts of injuries and illnesses faster than I would otherwise be able to do so, if at all. We propose to extract bone marrow from me and give it to you and Raven. We also want to give it to Bellamy and Octavia after I have recovered so that we have potential donors to treat others if needed. We don’t intend to give to anyone else unless it is needed to preserve life when all other measures fail because we don’t know the long term effects.”  
Beppi looked at the black blood and considered the implications of Clarke’s words. He hated to think that Clarke’s own mother, someone Beppi has always admired both as a doctor and a person, had probably had a hand in experimenting on her daughter while she was locked up for something she hadn’t even done. He wanted to ask about it but realised that it was something that Clarke would not want to discuss.  
“Okay, I’ll try your treatment; it’s not as if I need to worry about the possible long term adverse effects since we both know that without it I won’t get to live to see snow, and that is something that I really would like to experience.”  
Clarke laughed “snow is cold and wet, but I think everyone looks forward to enjoying their first snowfall. We’ll do it in a couple of days’ time so let us know if there’s something you want to do tomorrow just in case it all goes wrong.”  
“I want to go to a river, or lake. Put my bare feet in and feel it flowing over my skin” Beppi said with a hopeful look at Clarke.  
“Okay, water it is. You’ll have to be carried in a stretcher, but I promise it will be worth it.”

The next day Beppi was loaded onto a stretcher and a large party, including all the children, went to the lake for an afternoon of relaxation and fun. Even those who were there as guards had some time off to relax. Octavia tried to teach everyone the skill of skimming stones with very mixed results. There was much cheering when anyone managed to get their stone to bounce more than two times. Because children were naturally inquisitive creatures, they all wanted to know how the stones could bounce on water which led to an impromptu science lesson.  
Everyone noticed that Ito wanted to know more about the power and strength of water, which led to a discussion on hydro electronics and then to other engineering marvels.  
“I guess you have an apprentice” Octavia said to Raven.  
“Yeah, now we need to identify a 12 to 14 year old as well” Raven added.

“Even if the treatment doesn’t work” Beppi said as he grabbed Clarke’s hand, “I want you to know that I had a wonderful day and am so grateful that I got the chance to experience the wonders of earth. Thank you for your care of me.”  
Clarke smiled at Beppi as she turned her hand to squeeze his in return. “You are very welcome. Thank you for testing our pain remedies for us: without your insight I would have been very concerned about operating on Molly’s arm. Knowing that she was not in pain helped my nerves and the success of the operation.”

The next day Clarke was able to dose herself with a light painkiller and apply a topical anaesthesia to the area that Raven would have to drill. Bellamy and Octavia were there to offer moral support and use the tablets to allow Clarke to see exactly what Raven was doing.  
It took all of Clarke’s concentration to remain still despite the discomfort that she could still feel from the drilling.  
Raven soon had two doses of the treated marrow to inject. Octavia attached the tourniquet to both Raven and Beppi and injected the marrow.  
“It will take at least three hours to know if it is having any effect” Clarke said from her bed. “The first thing to check is your blood; then we’ll check your un-medicated pain levels and only after a few days will I be able to check for any changes to your tumours, Beppi, and that will have to be by opening you up and looking.”  
“Don’t you worry about me, little lady” Beppi reassured. “If you need to open me up then do so, but I’m equally happy to live on in blissful ignorance.”  
By the end of the day Raven was walking freely and Beppi was hobbling for a short distance aided only by a couple of sticks. Within the week, Raven said that she felt like she had never been injured and Beppi was walking around camp and talking about what he could do to contribute to the camp’s welfare. He agreed to be a teacher and try to learn how to be a wood crafter.

Five weeks later the procedure was repeated with Bellamy and Octavia being the recipients.  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is the potential for the decision to give Beppi black blood to turn round and bite them. There is a plot thread here that will get its next hit in a couple of chapters.  
I hope you enjoy.


	8. Mt Weather - Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They get their excuse to attack the Mountain, and meet some new people.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before we get to the meat of the post, I want to thank everyone who leaves kudos. It really makes my day when I receive an e-mail letting me know that someone has left me a kudos, so thank you.  
I think that I always reply to comments and I hope I always remember to thank you for your comments. If I don't, please feel free to leave another one deploring my manners!

Clarke had to decide how she was going to deal with Lexa on a personal basis: both if she, Lexa, did, or did not, remember. Clarke and Lexa had loved each other in the earlier life, but Clarke was now a different woman to the one Lexa knew. Clarke rather thought that she and Lexa were actually very alike; too similar to have really lasted long together. They were probably doomed to hurt or be hurt by the other and it would probably be best if they could somehow make sure they steered any potential relationship into that of friendship and allies.

Actually, Clarke rather thought that her relationship with Bellamy would be a good model for her relationship with Lexa. There was undoubtedly attraction, and much love and affection between her and Bellamy previously, but Clarke had already noticed some changes in the two of them and thought that they would become close, but not lovers. Perhaps she should wait until she felt better able to enter a relationship with someone that was less likely to lead to hurt and focus on leading her people through Praimfayer as safely as possible before she decided to fall in love. At least there was a chance that the relationship would last since there would not be very many people to move on to!

Lincoln came to the camp to let Bellamy and Clarke know that the Commander would like to meet with them in 30 days’ time to negotiate a peace treaty. That, apparently, would give both sides ample time to think of what they could offer the other, and what they would need in return. However, the Commander did say that they would not require Skaikru to vacate the land until 30 days after the first spring blooms even if they could not reach agreement, provided Skaikru did nothing to make Trikru regret their forbearance.

But Clarke did not need 30 days to demonstrate that they could contribute to the coalition.

Although Clarke, Bellamy and Octavia reminded everyone about the fog horn and steps to take to keep safe, not everyone listened.

Philip Rhodes was caught out unaware when the horn sounded. Ben remembered everything Bellamy had told him and knew that they were in danger but his dad thought that it was a wind up and ignored Ben’s requests to run until he saw the yellow fog heading their way. There was nowhere to go other than up. Philip placed Ben on his shoulders and helped him climb into a sturdy tree, yelling at him to climb higher. Philip clambered up behind his son but knew that he would not be able to get high enough to totally evade the fog. Philip braced himself as secure as he could be, then he told Ben to stand up on his shoulders and hold onto a branch and to not move until the horn sounded again.

Philip only stayed silent as the acid fog ate into his flesh up to his waist because he could not bear to scare his son more than he had to.

As soon as the all clear sounded Ben scrambled down, unknowingly causing his father immense pain.

“Get Bellamy and Clarke” Philip gasped out. “Quick!”

Ben slid down the tree until he hit the ground. He then headed to camp shouting for his hero “Bellamy! Bellamy, help!”

It only took a few half clear words for Bellamy to learn what had happened. He told Ben to go into the camp and to tell Clarke what had happened and for her to prepare a bed while he and Sterling went to get his dad.

Sterling raised his brows in question, but followed Bellamy regardless.

“I doubt we can do anything for him, but I don’t want to tell Ben that unless I’m sure” Bellamy explained.

They soon found Phillip Rhodes wedged between some branches up a tree.

Bellamy climbed up and saw the damage: he thought it extremely likely that Rhodes would lose his legs and wondered if it would be worth trying to save him. But Bellamy knew that it was not his choice: for the sake of Ben, if Rhodes was to die, Bellamy wanted to be able to say that everything possible had been done to save his dad.

Apologising for the pain that they would be causing, and cursing himself for not thinking of having a stretcher made to bring down, Bellamy eased Rhodes away from his perch and lowered him down towards Sterling.

“Look after Ben for me” Rhodes was saying between gasps and grunts of pain. “Promise me you’ll look after Ben for me.”

“If the worst comes to you, I promise that I will look after Ben; but first we’re going to do all that is possible to keep you alive so that you can look after him. You just have to hang on in there and keep breathing. Let the rest of us do everything else, you just focus on breathing.”

Bellamy could hear his name being called and he answered so that no one would get lost looking for him. He was surprised to find Jasper holding a contraption that unrolled into a stretcher.

“Clarke thought that you might need this” Jasper said and even he could see the accuracy of Clarke’s surmise.

The three carefully carried Rhodes back to camp. There Bellamy saw that Clarke was talking to Ben and Aurora. “I’ll come back to talk to you as soon as I know what’s happening, I promise. You wait here with Mrs Blake, okay?” 

Ben nodded at Clarke before watching his father being carried into the med bay.

Bellamy watched Clarke carefully washing her hands and forearms and take a deep breath before she turned to her patient.

“Mr Rhodes, I need to be honest with you. Ben said that the fog was above your pants and that you were standing in it the whole time. If the acid has burned its way past the skin into your internal organs then I probably won’t be able to save you. If your internal organs are intact then I might be able to save you. In either case you will be in an awful lot of pain. I can give you pain killers, but I cannot take away all the pain of recovery. First I’m going to examine the damage and it will hurt. I am sorry.”

“Don’t bother trying to keep me alive. My insides are burning and I taste blood on my breath” Rhodes said.

Clarke still carried out a cursory examination but it was clear that there was no saving Philip Rhodes, unless ... “I am sorry that I can’t do more for you than to give you pain relief unless you agree to trying the same experimental treatment that I gave to Beppi.”

“Do what you have to” Rhodes said. “If I live through it then great, but I’m not holding out much hope.”

“Let me give you this medicine and clean you up a little then I’ll send in Ben so you can talk while I prepare.”

Clarke used a dropper to put some liquid into Rhodes’s mouth. It was mere seconds before the pain was clearly easing. Clarke wiped away all the excess dirt from his face so that Ben would feel comfortable talking to him.

“Ben, I am so sorry but the acid has eaten away at your daddy so much that I don’t know if I can fix him. But I have given him some special medicine so that he won’t hurt any more. I don’t know how long it will be before his body stops working if I can’t fix him, so why don’t you come in and talk to your daddy for as long as you can?” Clarke was honest with Ben, but hopefully in a way that he would understand.

“No, Clarke, no!” Ben cried. “You have to fix him; you have to!”

“I will do my best but I might not be able to save him since so much of your daddy got killed by the fog. At the moment only his head works now and soon that will stop unless this special treatment I am going to try works. In case it doesn’t, please come in to say ‘goodbye’ to him and to tell him that you love him. Please come and let him hear that you love him.” 

Ben gave in to Clarke’s pleading and went to see his dad for what might be the last time.

Clarke prepared Bellamy for bone marrow donation.

There wasn’t a dry eye in the bay. Rhodes was able to tell Ben how much he loved him and how proud he was of him, but from now on Ben had to think of Bellamy like his dad and do what Bellamy said, because if he had done what Bellamy had told him to then he wouldn’t be hurting so much and possibly dying. Clarke thought that was a bit of a harsh lesson to teach his son, but she really could couldn’t argue with Rhodes’s words: if he had done what he had been advised then he would not be potentially dying. Ben promised to be a good boy and that he would never forget how great his dad is and how much he loved him. 

Clarke gave one of the doses of bone marrow from Bellamy to Rhodes, and the other to Aurora. The only other things Clarke could do for Rhodes was to make sure he stayed hydrated and in no pain. She also had to make sure that Bellamy was taking the opportunity to recover from his donation. Other than that it was a waiting game.

“We need to organise search parties: two fourteen year olds are missing” Nate said as he barged into the med bay. “Apparently they like to sneak off to make out, but they should have been back by now.”

Clarke went to get the second stretcher. She didn’t want to disturb Rhodes by pulling the other from under his body.

“Take this. You can either improvise or quickly ask Raven to get another made up” Clarke said.

No one wanted to ask Raven to take on board another task so Nate grabbed some of the parachute material to use if necessary.

A search party of four, plus one of the love birds’ friends soon found their bodies. They had died with their arms wrapped around each other. Nate used the material to wrap them up together so that they could both be carried on the one stretcher.

The 117 plus Octavia that had come to earth were now 116.

While it might appear to be disrespectful, Clarke took the arm bands and the outer clothing to retain for future use. She also removed Trina’s contraceptive implant so that it could be sterilised and inserted into Octavia which would mean that Octavia would be safe from pregnancy for just over three years.

Once everyone was settled for the night, Clarke called a meeting with Bellamy, Raven and Octavia to talk about the Mountain.

“We know that the Mountain is blocking our transmissions to the Arc, and theirs to us. We don’t know if they are intercepting them and thus getting information that we don’t want them to have. I think we need to act sooner rather than later. I do, however, have one concern: Praimfayer; from what it looked like to me, it would cause all water to evaporate leaving nothing to power the colony afterwards. Am I right, Raven?” Clarke asked.

“Actually, yes, and no. I think I can get some wind turbines built if we act sooner, but they could not be used until the main wave had passed and I don’t know how long that would last.”

“My best guess is somewhere between 24 and 48 hours from what I remember” Clarke said.

“Well, in that case it should be relatively easy to arrange for us to live off emergency power for two or three days before wind turbines could kick in. The wind turbines could support us until the dam was repaired from our sortie and the water built up again. So you want us to take the Mountain now?”

“I want us to invite Lincoln and maybe a few others, silent but deadly, to assist and see us as we take it” Clarke said with a smirk. “Is there any way you can teach me what Monty did so that you don’t have to come into the Mountain?” Clarke asked Raven.

“No, why?”

“Because you are our most valuable asset and we need to protect you at all costs. Also, getting you across the reservoir unseen will be difficult since you cannot swim. We’ll need to tow you through the water and you’ll have to trust us not to let you drown. Bellamy, we need you to remain outside since you are our best shot and a few others like Harper, and maybe Nate, so you can take out any who escape in suits. You should get your mom to try to come up with something that you can carry to put on if the fog should be released, make a few of them, can you talk to her? Perhaps we can ask Lincoln if one or two of their top archers would keep also keep watch.”

The women looked at Bellamy, who was not happy at being kept out of the Mountain, but considering the task Clarke set out for him required their best sharp shooters and that was undoubtedly him, he could only nod in agreement.

“I shall need at least four small but very sharp knives, as sharp as scalpels, with the blades of similar size but with slightly bigger handles, and balanced if possible for accurate throwing. I’ll ask John or Nate if they could do it. And, if we can have some sharp skewers that we can hide in our braids so that if we were captured we would still have a weapon that can kill or disable if stabbed in the right place. Can you ask Lincoln if he and others want in, tomorrow, O and perhaps ask if he knows anyone who would lend me a light, thin rapier?” Clarke wanted to get on and get the job done.

The next day Clarke gave Raven rudimentary swimming lessons and Aurora fashioned a towing harness that Raven could wear that would keep her tethered to whoever led her across the water. Bellamy and Miller worked on some knives to meet Clarke’s specifications. They were rather proud of what they achieved.

“Are you sure that it’s a good idea to have Clarke go into the mountain on this mission?” Miller asked when he was told what Clarke wanted the knives for.

Bellamy wondered how to answer without giving too much away. “Yeah; she’s the only one who knows her way around at all and although she could draw a map of what she remembers seeing in the schematics she once saw, she will probably forget something and only think of it once there. It was a choice between Raven and Monty, but Raven said that since she is the eldest the responsibility should lie with her. Both Clarke and I wanted to argue with her, but neither of us could imagine what it would do to innocent Monty’s psyche so we gave in. I don’t like that I’m not going in either, but we need our best shooter outside, and modesty aside, that’s me.”

Octavia was just returning to the camp when two grounder females arrived at the gate asking to speak to Wanheda. Of course no one in the camp knew who Wanheda was, but Octavia knew that it meant that there were more people who knew what had happened before. She wasn’t sure if that was a good thing.

Octavia recognised the Azgeda spy, Echo, who had tried and almost succeeded in killing her, but was banished for cheating in the conclave, but not the other female with her, the one that appeared to be in charge. Silently, Octavia drew her short knife and held it to the neck of the unknown Trikru female.

“Who are you and what do you want with Clarke?” Octavia asked.

“Ah, you must be the infamous Skairipa” the unknown female was remarkably cool for someone with a knife held to her throat.

“I repeat, who are you and what do you want with Clarke?” Octavia dragged the knife slightly to cause the shallowest of cuts.

“My name is Costia, and you know Echo, we need to speak with Wanheda, and anyone else who knows, which I believe includes you.”

“Skairipa, I apologise for my actions that almost led to your premature death. I promise that in this life I shall act to protect you where I can.”

Octavia lowered her knife and indicated that the two should follow her into the camp, after giving Echo a nod of acknowledgement of her words.

The three women ignored all the stares that were sent in their way as Octavia led them to the drop ship where they would be able to ensure some privacy. Seeing Ito, Octavia called him over and asked him to find Clarke, Raven and Bellamy and send them to the ship.

Since Clarke was already in the ship, she saw the visitors first and raised her brows on seeing Echo with someone who was obviously Trikru.

“Wanheda” Echo said as she bowed her head in respect, “I thank you for the chance you gave me to live before. I swear that I have learned from my past mistakes. I wish to swear allegiance to you, over and above all other loyalties.”

“Erm, well, thank you, Echo, I’m sorry that it didn’t do any good in the long run, though.”

“It was not through any fault of yours. And it would have done no good if only seven of us survived so it was for the best, I think.”

Clarke gave a wry smile as she agreed with the spy’s conclusion. “And you are?” Clarke looked to the Trikru woman expectantly.

“I am Costia kom Trikru I believe you know of me.”

Clarke gave the biggest smile as she looked at the visage of Lexa’s love. “I am so happy to meet you. Are you and Lexa still …?”

“Yes and you cannot have her” Costia was belligerent.

“I am a different woman to the one Lexa loved and I am sure that without your death to change her that Lexa is a different woman to the one I loved. I promise you, I am no danger to your relationship. Does Lexa remember too?”

Before Costia could answer that question Raven and Bellamy entered the ship.

“Echo?” questioned Raven who had paid so little attention to the Azgedan that she was unsure as to her identity.

“Hello, Raven, Tekheda. I thank you for trying to save me, and you Bellamy, I have pledged my loyalty to Wanheda but I also wish to serve you if I may. This is Costia kom Trikru, she also remembers and since she was the first to die, knows all.”

The group all stared at Costia, trying to work out the implications of Echo’s final statement.

“What do you mean ‘knows all’?” Bellamy asked a little suspiciously.

“Why don’t we all sit down with some moonshine and water while we talk about it?” Clarke said as she calmed the atmosphere. “I’ll ask Miller to take charge while were here; top level?”

Bellamy nodded and led the way up the stairs to the third level of the drop ship, an area set up to allow for a group to sit comfortably while they talk.

“You, Wanheda, Clarke kom Skaikru must again take the mountain, and in order to save Lexa it must be done without her apparent betrayal and making her appear weak to her people” Costia said.

“We were actually talking about that and have worked out a plan. We will need some help, though, O?” Clarke asked Octavia if Lincoln had agreed to help.

“Lincoln said that he would help in whatever way we needed and he was sure that others would be proud to assist in any way, too; but he did not know of anyone who had a small thin rapier like the one you had requested.”

“Good, and I guess I[‘ll have to manage with just knives. Echo, if I remember you are an excellent archer, would you be willing to be one of those watching for any escapees from the mountain?” Clarke asked.

“I think that I would be better helping you inside the mountain since there are other excellent archers but very few as stealthy and lethal as me which would be to advantage in getting to the … the ...” Echo tailed off as she realised that she didn’t know where they would going to do whatever they had to do.

“It is the Control Room where I shall have to pull the lever” Clarke explained. “Raven is the one who must be protected at all costs since she could tell you what to do if I should fall, but no one could carry out her function. We will need to work around the fog which will require us to cross by the reservoir by the dam and be in the reaper tunnels before the dam is blown. Unless someone essential is turned into a reaper and we can get to them quickly, given the future it is probably kinder to give them a quick death rather than a cure.”

“I agree” Costia said. “Even when cured they still suffered; their constant need for the red and their memories of the atrocities they carried out meant that they found no peace: it is one of the reasons why Lincoln did not fight death, he thought it was a way to atone. What can we do to help?”

Clarke and Raven explained their plan for getting into and taking down the mountain. “I’m only sorry that we can’t think of a way to save people like Maya and her family” Clarke lamented.

“Maya, that name” Costia seemed confused. “Maya, she was after me!” there was clarity. “Maya also remembers. I do not know at which point she will come back, but she too was chosen. As soon as the alarm sounds she will know what to do to help. Can you save her?”

Clarke thought for a few moments and suggested that their best bet would be to have a few shots of bone marrow ready to be injected. It will take a few hours to work so she will have to get the injected and other children into the quarantine area. She should be able to carry out more marrow transplants if there is enough oxygen to wait for it to take effect.”

Raven pointed out that once they had access to the mountain’s equipment she should be able to ‘discover’ praimfaya and radio the Arc. Bellamy wondered if it was possible that there was other secure facilities that might be found with the right computer systems.

“We can but look” Raven offered. “We really should try to find a way to use Becca’s lab, too, but that can wait. When do we want to do this?”

“As soon as possible” Clarke answered. “I’ll need to amputate Philip Rhodes’s legs and it would be better done in the medical facilities there.”

“What is ‘amputate’?” Costia asked, the healer in her coming out at the mention of the medical facilities.

“They were so badly damaged in the acid fog that I can’t save them so I need to surgically cut them off before they become infected and kill him” Clarke answered.

“Why would you keep a man alive who had no legs?” Echo was puzzled.

“Because his son still needs his dad, and he is a shoe maker, something that doesn’t require standing, running or climbing” Octavia explained the strange concept to the two grounders.

Echo tried hard not to show how disconcerted she was by the idea, but Costia was intrigued and asked if she could assist Clarke in carrying out the procedure. Clarke was happy to accept the offer knowing how difficult it would be without trained assistance.

As they all talked about their plans it became clear to Echo and Costia that Bellamy did not in fact remember, but had been told.

“So it is only women who remember” Echo said.

“Is it possible that Roan remembers?” Clarke asked.

“I believe he would have made contact with either me or Heda to try to discover if we, too remembered” Echo answered. “If he had observed me, prior to making contact, he would have noticed that I was behaving in a manner that would indicate that I knew something even if he could not understand the extent of my knowledge.”

“Or he could just be wandering around the countryside thinking he was going mad” Octavia observed wryly.

“Perhaps, after we have taken the mountain, you can try to find him and see if he wants to align himself with us until such a time as he can take the throne, if he could put up with a bunch of teenagers sorely in need of some strong adult guidance. If he could bring himself to stay with us we would certainly welcome him” Clarke suggested.

“We could certainly do with some help keeping some of the delinquents in line” Raven muttered, “Dax and Mgebe being cases in point and I know he’s intimidating enough to do it without even raising a sweat.”

Clarke agreed with the assessment: Bellamy being reasonable instead of an asshole was finding it difficult to maintain control of some of the more obstreperous delinquents. There may come a time when more stringent punishments would have to be implemented if some of the delinquents could not grow to being more co-operative.

Echo and Costia brought in their horses that they had left a short walk away for Skaikru to have the opportunity to meet the beasts. A few brave souls even agreed to enjoy short rides. Surprisingly it was Ben who appeared to have most affinity with the animals, something that Clarke and Bellamy were both pleased to note since they had wondered what area they would be able to direct his education as he grew so that he and everyone would know that he would be able to contribute to the welfare of the clan when he was older – provided they were able to save some horses from praimfaya.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I guess I could note the OCs in the tags, but they won't play too big a role (other than Beppi and Rhodes so I might change my mind on them later). Costia and Lexa is an established relationship so they are now going to have to be noted. Sorry for those wanting a Clexa, but I found myself typing 'and you can't have her' and that was it, the possibility of Clexa was gone. I have yet to decide who (other than Octavia and Lincoln who must be together) will pair off with whom, current characters or new ones. We'll see what happens as I continue to type.


	9. Mount Weather Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The teams go into the mountain with the plan to irradiate. Can they save Maya? Do they lose any of their friends? Can they make sure that they leave no loose ends that could come back later?

Three days after Costia and Echo’s first visit they returned with six warriors, three of whom were clearly archers. Bellamy took them to one side and told them the plan and offered the lightweight tents that they should carry so that they would be protected from the acid fog if necessary.

One of the other warriors would go with Clarke into the mountain and had been tasked with protecting Clarke at all costs. Clarke tried to persuade her that Raven was the one who was more essential to the mission but “Heda has commanded me to protect you. Others will protect Tekheda” and there was nothing Clarke could say to convince her otherwise.

Costia said that she and Nyko, who would attend shortly with Lincoln and three Trikru warriors who would assist inside the mountain, together with the two remaining warriors (both of whom Clarke recognised, Lexa in disguise and Gustus), would set up near to the mountain in case their healing knowledge would be needed. The two warriors would offer protection from any reapers that might attack. Clarke asked Murphy to accompany them with a gun since it could only help. Clarke, Raven and Octavia’s tent was dismantled, folded tightly and given to that group for protection in the event of acid fog. It would be a tight squeeze, but all five could fit in at a push.

Once everyone was assembled, the plan was gone over once again. Clarke showed those going into the mountain a drawing of Maya and said that she should not be killed since she was their inside source. 

“We have not heard from her for some time so it is possible that she has been compromised, but if at all possible, keep her safe” Clarke declared. Those in the know only hoped it would be enough to keep the young woman safe.

Clarke and Bellamy announced that Beppi and Aurora would be in charge of the camp until they returned. They expected to be away for two nights, maximum.

Aurora, trying so hard to hold onto her stiff upper lip, watched the group march into battle. She knew that it was very likely that they would succeed: she knew that it was necessary for the future of the human race that they succeed: but it did not lesson the pain of seeing her beloved son and daughter, and the young woman she had come to adore as they plotted to come to Earth leave to kill hundreds of people knowing it was possible that they might not return.

“They will come back, and in one piece, you know” Beppi said to the mother who was barely holding it together. “I have seen enough to know that they have prepared for this fight long before you and I even knew that there was one to have; and I also know that this is just one battle in a much bigger war that they are already preparing for: they and a couple of our new friends.”

Aurora looked at Beppi wondering how much he really knew, could she talk to him about her knowledge? It would be so much easier to manage if she had someone, a contemporary, who she could confide in. Perhaps after the mountain had fallen she could get clearance from Bellamy to do that.

Some of the warriors that were accompanying the group asked questions about how they came up with their plan. It did not go unnoticed by Clarke that Lexa was the most interested.

“We were supposed to land on Mount Weather and to use it as our base. We were able to look at an old plan of the inside so we would have a rough idea of where the commodities we would need were, if the bunker had remained intact” Clarke said. “We had no idea that there would be people living in the bunker, in fact we were told that no one was alive on the planet so we were sent as a test to find out if it could sustain humans. When Lincoln told us about what was happening in the mountain we guessed that we would, at some point, be targeted and knew we would have to come up with a plan. We had thought that we would be more defensive rather than offensive but, as Bellamy pointed out, they were dehumanising people, your people, and the longer we left it, the more damage they would do. Also the best defence is a good offense and we don’t want to have the threat hanging over our heads so we refined our plan so that we could attack sooner rather than later. An added bonus is that their medical facilities are bound to be an improvement on ours and I need to do a surgery on a man who was caught in the acid fog. He might not survive anyway, but every little bit of help I can give him, like a clean sterile operating room with proper operating tools, I will do all I can.”

“Yes, Costia has said that you wish to remove the legs of a man and she would like to help” Nyko said. “I, too, should like to help, or at least observe, if I may?”

“Yes, you can help, but I will ask that you do everything I say, like sterilising your hands, wearing sterile clothing. We are not used to the bacteria here so we must do everything we can to prevent infection. We even have to be very careful with the smallest of cuts until we have had time to acclimatise.”

The warriors all shook their heads at the idea of so much effort to keep a man alive who, if he did survive, would have no legs at the end – although they could not imagine that a man with no legs would even want to survive.

“Why are we going to attack the dam?” Lexa asked. “Will it affect people down river?”

“The dam provides the power for the mountain. If the dam is damaged they will have to reduce their power usage quite dramatically which means that all non-essential personnel will have to congregate in a specific area leaving fewer people to run around drawing our focus. Lincoln sent word to the villages closest to the river down-stream to warn them of the potential flooding. The one he told me about said that this was the first time that they would be praying for floods” Clarke answered.

“And you didn’t think that it was necessary to ask the permission of Heda to potentially flood her villages” Lexa was snide.

“I assumed that the Heda would want the mountain defeated and any of her people that may still be in there released and that a slight risk of flooding was worth it. I also assumed that if Lincoln, Costia or Echo thought that the Heda needed to grant permission that they would have sought it, or at least told me to do so. If I am wrong then I guess I shall have to apologise afterwards when we get to have our meeting, assuming I’m alive to apologise afterwards” Clarke wanted to remind Lexa that there was the possibility of dying in this attack.

Soon the parties prepared to separate: the snipers and archers together with the medical unit going one way while the attack unit had to cross the river.

“We’ll attack before dawn” Clarke reminded Bellamy. “Keep your tents at hand and stay safe, look out for their snipers, too.” Clarke hugged Bellamy for the longest time, then went to Harper, Murphy and Costia to do the same before nodding to the others.

Raven and Octavia followed suit, both hugging Bellamy even longer than Clarke had, while Miller gave them all clasps on the shoulder.

“I promise to keep them safe” Miller said to Bellamy who gave a nod of acknowledgement.

They turned to go and as one, Bellamy, Clarke, Raven, Octavia, Harper, Miller and Murphy said “May we meet again.”

They crossed the river and began the long hike towards the dam. The plan was that they set up camp just over an hours hike away from the dam in case the mountain’s cameras were watching them. They would wake up at 03.00 so that Raven could blow the dam and they could be in the reaper tunnels by 04.30. Hopefully it would enable them to catch the mountain men off guard. Clarke hoped that Maya would be able to get to them before they had to irradiate the entire facility.

No one got much sleep, but they were still alert for the attack.

Lincoln pulled Raven across the reservoir using the harness that Aurora had made for her. They used hollowed out bone as snorkels so they could travel under the water just in case it was being watched. The timer was set on the bomb so that they would be safe in the tunnels when it went off. Luckily there were not many reapers about, which made Clarke worry about where they were, and they were quickly disposed of without having to resort to the use of guns. They were almost at the shute exit when the bomb detonated. They could hear the sirens from where they were. Raven had attached another (smaller) bomb to the shute door when it was pushed open.

“Clarke, is that you?” a voice came from inside.

“Maya? Maya, are you okay?” Clarke called amazed at the luck.

“Yeah, I’m okay. I knew to expect you so I’ve been hanging around in the med vents and as soon as I heard the explosion I knew it was time. I could see you outside here on the cameras. I had to kill a guard who also saw you and took them offline. Get up here quick.”

Clarke received a heft up into the waste disposal room and quickly hugged Maya and gave her an injection of black blood marrow through her hazmat suit. The needle hole was quickly covered by tape but some radiation would still have seeped through, hence the black blood.

Clarke handed Maya vial and said “There’s enough in there to give ten doses, all O neg. Take who you can trust to the quarantine area and inject ten. After a few hours, you may be able to take marrow from them to give to others, but I don’t know how long the oxygen will hold out. You go and do your part so you’re not with us while we do ours. Thank you, and may we meet again.”

Maya took the vial and handed Clarke a key card belonging to the dead guard, then climbed back through the vent, no doubt to inject her father and others she would try to save.

The attack team made their way through the bunker, helped greatly by the cameras being off line, but they did meet some resistance that they were able to kill silently until they were spotted by a guard who managed to radio in before they realised that he was there. He did not have time to give their location but he did warn of their presence. One of the Trikru warriors was hit in the shoulder. It was not fatal, and he could keep pace with the team but Clarke knew that without proper care he would not regain the full range of motion and was determined to ensure that Nyko knew exactly how to treat the bullet wound.

The swords became almost useless as they came under greater fire and Clarke, Octavia and Miller had to use their guns. One of the team was shot in the head – there was no coming back from that. Octavia was shot in the leg. She wanted to be left behind but Lincoln tied a tourniquet around her thigh and carried her over his shoulder, using just the one hand to hold her steady so he could still throw with the other, and Octavia could still use both of hers to shoot. Clarke noticed Lincoln’s slight smirk as the other grounders inhaled sharply at the sight of Octavia’s blood. She assumed that Octavia had already told Lincoln about it, and how she came by it. 

They reached the Control Room with just the loss of the one team member, but with four injuries.

Clarke opened the door and shot dead the single occupant. Once all the team were inside she locked the door behind them.

“Raven, you do your thing and see if you can bring the cameras back online, please” Clarke said as she took her field med kit out of her back pack and started to assess the injuries. Only one was time critical. It was a through and through, and although it was bleeding profusely it did not appear to have damaged any internal organs irreparably. They just needed to control the bleeding until Clarke could open her up and get inside. Guessing that Echo’s fingers were the best fit Clarke instructed Echo to reach through the holes with her middle fingers until they met. If she could feel the pulse of blood to apply pressure to try to cut down on the bleeding.

“Dammit, they’ve released the fog!” Raven shouted. “Switching off now. Don’t know how far it would have gone or how much damage it’s done. Cameras back online and air purification reversed. Over to you, Griffin, but best be quick, look.”

Clarke looked at the screen and could see Cage Wallace, Lorelie Tsing and Carl Emerson in the harvesting room with all the caged grounders. The Trikru growled and demanded that Clarke kill all the scum now. Unfortunately Clarke had spotted that all three held automatic rifles and they could kill an awful lot of those in the cages before the radiation would kill them.

Clarke took the microphone.

“Mr Wallace, I presume. My name is Clarke and I have control over your air supply. I will start to count down from five and I want you and your people with you to put down your weapons and open all the cages. If you do not comply, and if you hurt a single person in one of those cages I will immediately irradiate this entire facility. If you do as I say, the people you have kept caged up like animals may wish to exact revenge, but you will die knowing that your people are safe. Your peoples’ lives are in your hands, surrender and they will live. Don’t and they will …”

Dr Tsing went to lower her weapon, Emerson seemed to want to discuss the situation with Cage, but he didn’t want to talk. He opened fire, killing first his two comrades as Clarke pulled the lever, but also hurting, if not killing a number of the caged grounders before the radiation rendered him, and everyone else not treated, immobile then dead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Should Clarke go to so much effort to save Philip Rhodes when she wouldn't attempt save the reapers? It was a question that I had to ponder greatly and at some point she will be asked to justify that distinction. I promise that she is not as heartless as she appears.


	10. Mount Weather Part 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is a little bit of a tidy up the details chapter, the ending of the battle for the mountain and dealing with the immediate aftermath - counting the dead, treating the injured, that sort of thing.

“Raven, Lincoln, Echo, please help me get everyone injured to the medical facilities quickly” Clarke organised while ignoring her own injury. “Miller, Phelan, can you quickly get to those outside and bring them here to help treat the injured? Don’t forget to look out for reapers. Lincoln, once we reach medical, can you go through to the cages to release those in there and bring the injured to medical.”

There were only nods of acknowledgment as everyone went to do as Clarke suggested.

Lincoln reported that two of the people in a cage who had been shot were dead. The others did not appear to be too seriously injured, three appeared to be injured by bullets grazing their bodies, others seemed to be ill. Clarke’s first job, therefore, was the through and through. She stitched the entrance wound on Jant’s back and prepared to go in through her abdomen.

“You should leave me and treat those who can be saved” she said.

“Shut up and let me concentrate on saving you” Clarke ordered. “This is going to hurt but I need you to be as still as possible and I don’t want to knock you out.”

“I am a Trikru warrior and am used to pain. Do your worst, Skygirl.”

Clarke had to admit that she was very impressed with how still Jant was being, despite Clarke slicing open her abdomen and having Echo press down hard on an artery. Clarke took a few seconds to find the fine suture and patch kit she needed to stitch the blood vessel.

When all the assistants, except Maya, were present, Clarke had them all scrub their hands and instructed Bellamy on how to close Jant’s wound after Clarke had done all she could to ensure the security of the internal organs. Clarke knew that Bellamy was quite capable of sewing a seam and ignored his obvious fear at being required to turn his skills on to something live. She then prepped Harper and Miller to donate a pint of blood each because Jant had lost too much and she didn’t want to take the time to type and cross match when all from the Arc were O negative, universal donors.

After Jant was sewn up, Bellamy was asked to donate a pint to transfer to Octavia. Costia and Nyko were watching closely as the needles were inserted into the donor’s arm. There were gasps of shock at the sight of Bellamy’s blood. With an extra pint going into Octavia, Clarke knew that she could wait for her wound to be treated.

Just as Clarke was about to start on the shoulder injury, an unhelmetted Maya turned up wanting to know what she could do to help.

It was discovered that all the grounders that were in the cages were already blood typed so Clarke asked Maya to type the rest so that they could cross match to those needing transfusions. At first there was some consternation, but the little pin prick to test their blood and seeing how Skaikru had already donated soon calmed the others down. Maya, with help from Lincoln (and, undoubtedly, Lexa) soon had two potential donors at hand for each person who had been shot with another pint going into Jant. Clarke also wanted a pint of blood to be given to those who were kept in the cages who were ‘ill’ pending further tests. Only three donors were needed from the cages, and, luckily, none of them had been bled so were still strong.

Maya’s next job was to organise and x-ray all the bullet injuries. This was something that fascinated the grounders, particularly Costia and Nyko: to see everyone’s bones clearly, and some of their internal organs was, to them, almost miraculous. 

Costia and Nyko watched carefully as Clarke worked through removing all the bullets and stitching wounds explaining what she was doing and why. They helped where they could and were impressed at the patience and thoroughness Clarke was exhibiting with each patient despite the number of injuries. Then they became more impressed when Clarke removed her shirt and said that they would need to operate on her.

The x-ray showed that the bullet was lodged in Clarke’s liver and they would need to remove about a quarter of the organ. She pointed out that the liver would regenerate and that any bleeding from the liver should cease with the application of pressure or, if necessary, cauterisation; it was other blood vessels that they would need to be careful of. Before surgery was to start on her, Clarke asked Maya to run blood tests on everyone who was in the cages who appeared to be unwell. While she was on the table under the knife with nothing more than a local anaesthetic, Clarke was informed that the blood work showed that iron and mineral supplements, as well as time would allow them to heal.

The surgery on Clarke was the longest to carry out, even though it was not the most complicated because neither Nyko nor Costia had carried out such surgeries before. They had previously assumed that to even attempt one would be fatal and therefore pointless. On learning that Clarke was also a nightblood, Lexa offered herself to be a donor for Clarke and a pint of the Commander’s blood was transfused into Clarke.

There were no more deaths, thanks primarily to Clarke.

When everyone was settled, and safely recovering, Maya spoke up. “We cannot leave all the bodies in here to rot and everyone needs to eat.”

“What do you suggest Skaigirl?” Lexa asked.

Maya was about to contradict Lexa about being designated a skygirl but a quick glance at Costia stopped her. “I suggest that all those who are well enough help me get enough food and water to bring down here for everyone. I’ll go and talk to the people who were helping here to see if they how they are doing after their treatments and when Clarke is a little better perhaps she can tell us when they should be able to leave quarantine. Once we’re all nourished sufficiently I would like for a mass grave to be dug outside since the only thing the people of Mt Weather wanted was to get to the surface.”

“I can send word to a village to ask for volunteers to come and help with the dead. We will want to build a pyre for our own since it is the way we release their spirit to the afterlife.”

Maya went to talk to the others from Mt Weather and warned them about the assumption that she was from the sky people saying that it was probably better if they went along with that.

Once everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, including the hundred plus previously held in the cages, Lexa declared that all her people should return to their homes and spread the word of the fall of the mountain. Echo, Costia, Lincoln and Nyko asked if they could remain to help with the funerals: permission was granted, but Lexa and Gustus would be returning to Polis, calling at the villages downstream to see if any needed any help from floods.

“You’re the Commander, or at least very senior in the hierarchy aren’t you?” Raven asked, knowing the answer but not wanting to let on that she was sure.

“I am the Commander, yes” Lexa replied. “I did not wish you to know so that I could observe you as you worked, know you as behaved naturally. I am very impressed.”

“Yeah, well, thanks, I guess. Anyway, since you’re the Commander, it might be helpful if you took a radio so you could contact us without having to send a rider, or something” Raven pressed.

“What is a radio?” Lexa asked.

Raven took great pleasure in instructing the Commander on how to use the long range communication device, explaining that they had thought to offer some radios to the people of the coalition as part of an alliance package.

Every ten minutes or so after she had left, the Commander radioed to ask if they could still hear her, and to confirm that they were still inside the Mountain. Lexa sounded surprised at every call!

Eventually the Commander, Gustus and one of the uninjured warriors arrived at the first village downstream from the dam. There was some flooding, but thanks to Lincoln’s warning there was no casualties. When informed that the Mountain had fallen, the village celebrated the victory and were almost happy to move further up the banks, clearing trees to build new homes to replace those lost. Lexa promised that help would be sent from TonDC to assist.

The same was true of the next village. Freedom from the threat of the Mountain was well worth the loss of some homes. Lexa told the story of how Clarke kom Skaikru took down the Mountain and refused to let those hit by the Mountain’s fayaguns die, even though she too had been injured and needed to be cut open and part of her insides removed.

“Wanheda!” was murmured reverently. “Wanheda fell from the sky to save us from the Mountain.”

Lexa agreed with the allocation of the title. Wanheda had commanded her, Lexa’s, warriors to live even when it was so clear that some should have died: Clarke kom Skaikru was indeed Wanheda and a worthy ally.

Bellamy instructed Harper, Miller and Murphy to return to the camp to explain what had happened and that the rest would return later once everyone was well. Some more accommodations would be required for the new people joining them. Raven said that Maya could share with her, Clarke and Octavia so that was one less person to worry about. Murphy looked like he wanted to say something a bit insalubrious, but a sharp look from Raven quelled his instinct and he just said “There’s a small gap in your tent next to the zipper. It let in some fog until we held a pile of cloths over it. No one was hurt” he added when he saw that Bellamy was about to raise that point.

“I’m staying to help with the dead” Miller said uncompromisingly. Bellamy could only accept.

Raven took Bellamy and Miller to the Control Room so she could look at the schematics of the Mountain. Finding what she was looking for she led the two men to the vehicle hanger. It was the motherload. As well as some smaller Rovers, there were three trucks, an armoured vehicle, two motor bikes, a mobile crane and a digger. All were solar powered. She opened the hanger doors so that light could enter to begin charging all the batteries. The digger would make digging a grave for 371 people a lot easier than doing it by hand.

Maya remembered from the past life how long it would be for everyone who received normal Skaikru bone marrow to be safe to breathe the no longer purified air. She went to tell her people that they would be able to leave in a couple of hours. 

Once she was up and able to walk, albeit in some pain, Clarke hobbled to the quarantine area and reminded them all that it would be best to be tested regularly to make sure that the marrow kept them safe. Clarke explained everything about Maya being taken for Skaikru since she had helped them and why they would all have to be assimilated into the Skai clan.

“Why can’t we still live here?” asked one of the children.

“We might come back, particularly if winter gets too cold” Clarke explained, “but your people have always wanted to live outside and now you can. You can get to run in the forests, swim in the lakes, smell the fresh clean air and when winter comes, play in the snow.”

All the former Mt Weather people agreed that it sounded like a great idea.

Lincoln, Echo and Maya made sure that the pathway to the families’ quarters was clear of the dead so that none of those treated would come across a body: they didn’t need to see what fate would have awaited them if Maya had not been able to inject them with marrow donated by members of Skaikru. Using trollies and sheets, all the bodies were moved from the areas that the people would need to use and to make it easier for the funerals the next day.

Bellamy, Raven and Miller, after fierce, almost violent, arguments agreed to take turns with the digger. After discussions with the four adults from Mt Weather (five including Maya), it was agreed that there would be three graves: one, the most important one; the one that would be marked most prominently, would be for the children who died. Each child would get to hold something that was personal to them, be wrapped in cloth and laid out side by side: the second would be for the adults who had expressed their sadness that the cost for them to live was the lives of others, even though they were not prepared to do anything to stop the treatments. They would be named on the marker for the grave: and thirdly, the one for the Wallaces, Carl Emmerson and their ilk. Their bodies would be treated little better than the trash they treated the grounders’ as. Lincoln had brought back the bodies of two snipers from the mountain who had been unsuccessful in their attempt to defend their home. Bellamy pointed out that they should keep and repair their hazmat suits.

Three pyres were built: one was for the warrior and the two caged grounders that were shot dead; the other two were for all the reapers that had to be killed. Clarke didn’t know how long it would take for all the remaining reapers to die, or to find their way to the tunnels for their fix, but she knew that a watch would have to be kept for some weeks just to be on the safe side.

Everyone was amazed at the number of people who turned up from nearby villages to help move the bodies and witness the funerals – both Grounder and Mountain. Clarke thought that it might be because they wanted to make sure that the mountain men had truly been vanquished.

Death, something that most do everything they can to fight off was the one great equaliser and something that eventually happened to everyone. Or at least that was what Clarke had thought, but she had already noticed that she was being revered as ‘Wanheda’ and hoped that she would not come to regret that title in the second life as she did in the first because she did not want anyone to think that it was within her power to command death when death could not be commanded.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now that the mountain has fallen things can move on and hopefully the gang will be able to 'discover' the forthcoming apocalypse.


	11. Welcoming New Kru Members

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The survivors from Mt Weather need to meld with Skaikru and become one. The move from the relative luxury of the mountain to effectively camping in the woods is not as comfortable as some would like.

Bellamy and Miller each drove one of the Rovers loaded with familiar bedding for the Mountain people, and as many people as they could fit in, as close as they could get to their camp. 

Clarke, Costia, Echo, Maya, Octavia and Raven stayed in Mt Weather. Clarke needed to recuperate and prepare for Philip Rhodes’s surgery. Raven was checking everything she could on the computer. Maya stayed to help Clarke and to give herself a chance to separate from her people so they don’t notice how much she knows about everyone, and to prepare herself to meet and pretend not to know her dear, sweet Jasper. 

Everyone who knew what was happening wanted to talk about the future and how they could protect as many people as possible, but it was agreed that it could wait a little until Raven could ‘discover’ the forthcoming apocalypse and they would have a plan for the Arc and something to offer Lexa.

The Mountain people enjoyed their drive through the forest; they even didn’t mind their awkward hike for the last part of their journey loaded down as they were. More visits would be made to recover more belongings but Bellamy had suggested that it would be better in the short term if they didn’t make it clear to the delinquents that they had so much more than the original Skaikru. 

“They are teenaged delinquents, after all, and their whole lives have been one of deprivation and being punished for giving in to temptation” Bellamy emphasised; “so let’s not offer them any temptation, eh?”

The children were delighted to learn that they would be sharing a cabin with all the other children. They thought it was going to be one long sleepover. At first their parents wanted to balk at that, but when it was pointed out that the couple (Josh and Carol Turner) would have their own tent they soon accepted the arrangements with a smile. Vincent Vie agreed to share with Beppi, and Philip Rhodes if he ever became mobile again, while Charley Paul agreed to share with Aurora and Molly.

James and Toyah, two of the younger delinquents, helped Bellamy and Miller set up the sleeping areas for the children. James and Toyah were amongst the delinquents who were originally intended to sleep in the cabin, well, more a waginogan which is a lot quicker and easier to build without practical experience than log cabins would be, but when they knew six more youngsters would be joining them they thought that it should be for the under 12s only. The next one built would be for the 12 to 15 year olds.

Bellamy knew it would be best to try to keep sleeping arrangements separated by age, and for the younger teenagers, by gender. He had no doubt that some of the older 12 to 15 year olds would be having sex, but hopefully they would keep that away from their sleeping quarters.

Once Aurora had shown the adults to where they should set up their private accommodations she went to greet her son.

“You seem happy so I’m assuming everyone is well” she asked as she hugged him.

“Yeah, it went almost as planned. O was shot in the leg but is fine, moaning about having to rest so I’m glad for the break!” Bellamy didn’t want his mom to worry. “One of the guards died, Clarke had to operate on one serious injury on one of the guards that came with Lincoln, as well as O’s leg and some other injuries before we learned that she, too, was injured and had the Trikru healers operate on her to remove part of her liver. She told them what they had to do before she went under. They were more frightened than she was.”

“Oh, poor Clarke. That poor young woman acts like she has the weight of the whole world on her shoulders. I wish there was some way we could help her more. When are the girls coming home? I know you said they’re all well, but I want to see for myself, and maybe offer a little bit of mothering.”

“Why don’t you leave Molly to oversee the women and children and come with me to take Philip to Mt Weather for his surgery tomorrow, or day after if Clarke needs to wait? You’ll be able to mother O all you want and no one there will think anything of it. Miller will be in charge of the camp overall. We can give them a few days to settle but then we’ll need to find things our new people can and want to do.”

Bellamy wanted to just take his mom with Phillip Rhodes to the Mountain, but Josh Turner said that he thought he should go back with them so that he could talk to the engineer about where the radiation had been leaking into the bunker. Josh pointed out that now that they had marrow injections and could take the radiation levels it shouldn’t matter but he was a great believer in fixing things when they’re not needed rather than waiting until they are.

“Thanks” Bellamy said. “We wouldn’t have thought of that and you’re right. We should make sure the bunker is radiation proof just in case another nuclear apocalypse is on the horizon.” And Bellamy cursed himself for not thinking about why so many Grounders were needed for so many treatments if the bunker really was sealed.

When they arrived at Mt Weather, Josh wandered off with Raven while Clarke, Costia, Nyko, Maya, Echo and Lincoln took Philip to the medical centre leaving Bellamy and Octavia alone with their mom.

“Come on, you two” Aurora said as she hugged her daughter especially tightly; “let us find somewhere private so we can talk without being overheard”.

Bellamy, helping to support Octavia, who should still be resting her leg, led them to an empty family room. It didn’t take long for both Aurora and Octavia to notice that Bellamy was shaking. It didn’t take words, just the raising of two imperious brows to get Bellamy to start talking.

“Mt Weather isn’t radiation proof; that’s why they needed to carry out so many treatments because the radiation leaked in. It won’t be able to save any of us if Praimfaya is as bad as you all say. No matter what happens, we’re all going to die anyway. I’m so sorry; I can’t save you even with this second chance!” Bellamy was falling apart with the stress.

“Bellamy, you listen to me and you listen good” Aurora was being firm; “Josh is going to help Raven find and seal all the leaks. They are both smart enough to think of a way to check for more leaks, work out why they were leaking and take precautions to make sure no more leaks occur. Got that?”

Bellamy could only nod in agreement: Raven and Josh had the brains and the time to make this place safe. Raven would have to discover Praimfaya soon so that they could get more hands preparing for the cataclysm. He began to calm down; his mom was right, they could do this: there was no point in them being given this second chance if there was no way to succeed, so they would ask the right questions in a timely manner, to get the information and help they needed so save as many people, and animals, as they could. They could do it, he was positive, well, almost positive.

The children from the mountain loved their new home; the idea of sleeping on the floor with all the other children was amazing to them. Carol Turner and Charley Paul were not so enamoured; nor were they as quiet as they could have – should have – been when talking about it.

“You know, if you really don’t want to be here that much, you could always give the bone marrow back to the kids who are currently on bed rest recovering from the donations; return to your prison in the mountain, or die of radiation burns” Murphy was snarky as he listened to the two ungrateful women. “You were given an incredible opportunity, something that your people have been killing and dying for and all you can find to say about it is that your beds are not very comfortable. At least you’re not sleeping on the floor with a hole drilled in your hip like those who gave you this chance. I came to tell you that we eat a light lunch as and when each person is ready after the lunch bell is rung until the final call bell, a lot eat together but some return to their tents for a bit of quiet, but we all tend to eat dinner together around the fire, youngest and sick served first so we can all catch up with everything going on. Come and grab some lunch when you’re ready. Oh, I’m Murphy, by the way; I’m in charge of food preparation so let me know if you have any allergies or particular dislikes so I can make sure there is always something you can eat.” At that Murphy, in all his scrawny 16 year old superiority, inclined his head imperiously at the two ungrateful new comers and walked off hoping that neither of them ended up on food prep duty.

Vincent, meanwhile, was having a very informative chat with his new roommate, Beppi.

“Something is going on, isn’t it?” Vincent asked. “I know it’s something big. I also know that I’m not supposed to say anything, but I can tell from the way you look around that you know more than you’re letting on, and Maya, she suddenly started acted differently, more positively as if she had hope and started to tell me that we needed to be prepared, but she would never say for what and then out of the blue, when we have an emergency she tells me that it’s time and tells me to put on a hazmat suit and disappears. The next time she sees me she gives me an injection and tells me to go to the quarantine area with certain people, to whom she also gives an injection. She later comes to tell us that we will soon be able to leave the bunker, but that we 11 are the only ones who survived because when Cage Wallace started shooting up in the harvest chamber, Clarke irradiated everyone who didn’t get a bone marrow injection. That means that your, I suppose it’s now our leader just killed over 370 people and I don’t know why.”

“I don’t know what happened in the harvest chamber” Beppi began carefully; “but I do know that two of our people were killed by the acid fog that came from the mountain; that Clarke, a 17 year old girl who is apparently recovering from having a bullet removed from her liver, is going to have to operate to remove a man’s legs because of the same acid fog; I also know that the people from the mountain have captured and killed thousands of our neighbours over the years and that Clarke was sure that we would now also be on your capture target: is any of that incorrect?”

Vincent huffed a sigh. “No, I cannot say that any of that is incorrect. We all knew what was happening, how we were able to recover so quickly from radiation burns” and when he saw Beppi’s confused query, Vincent explained: “Blood was taken from the outsiders and swopped with our people’s. The outsider died, our people lived. Some refused treatments and died of their injuries, my wife and Charley’s husband included, and some would accept the treatments but argued that since we were taking the lives of the outsiders we should at least treat them right instead of keeping them caged up, there was also some who would argue that the savages deserved nothing more than to be kept in cages and that we should also be able to use them for entertainment. Not everyone knew, but some of us knew that they were also experimented on. We were trying to gather intel on that to present to the President to try to at least stop that going on. To be honest, we were fighting a losing battle and, as a people, we had lost most of our humanity. I believe the small number we started with to maintain our population led to a little insanity with the inbreeding.”

Beppi thought as he tried to explain how life, and reproduction, worked on the ARC. Vincent couldn’t believe that all the people in the camp had, in effect, been sent to die.

“It was a gamble” Beppi admitted, “but it has paid off. Even the worst of the delinquents is grateful to not be dead and is pulling their weight. We have some bitching, shoving and arguments, but no real fights. If there is a problem, it’s talked out over our evening meal so everyone knows what’s going on and why certain decisions are made. Clarke and Bellamy have no problem with anyone asking for an explanation, or for a change in assignment, or even more supplies. All our concerns are treated with respect and so far no one has seen fit to do anything other than treat Clarke and Bellamy with respect – they have earned it.

“As to something else going on, yeah, you’re right. Something big is going down and currently knowledge is held in a very tight circle, but I have no doubt that once you are all settled, all our people have recovered from their injuries and Clarke and Bellamy have had time to draw breath that we will be told at least something about what is going on.”

Two days later everyone bar Clarke and Philip returned to camp. (They were being looked after by Nyko and his second.) Word spread that a camp meeting was called for when after the younger children were in bed. They were about to be told what was going on.

“One night, a couple of weeks ago, a group of drunken teenagers sat around the fire and wondered how the ARC could have been so sure that the Earth would be uninhabitable for another 100 years. We realised that it was possible that they just got it wrong – people can make mistakes, it happens, right?” Bellamy said as he looked at the delinquents who were all locked up for making a mistake. “But we also realised that it was possible that they hadn’t gotten it wrong and that we were just not party to the full story: a meteorite similar to the one that wiped out the dinosaurs was one suggestion, but our resident genius, Raven” who stood up to take a bow, “suggested that it might be the nuclear reactors blowing since they all have a fail safe for up to 100 years but after that they would be on borrowed time if they were not shut down properly when the bombs fell. We agreed that we would wait until we were able to contact the ARC and try to persuade them to investigate. However, the misfortunes at the mountain meant that she was able to make use of their computers. Raven hasn’t been able to carry out a full investigation but she has discovered that radiation levels are rising again and that the mega reactors on this continent were not shut down before the bombs.” Bellamy stopped talking to allow everyone to digest the possibilities of what he just said.

“Are we going to die?” Rayne, a very young 14 year old asked.

“Not if we can help it” Bellamy said. “There are a number of possibilities of what might happen. We might be able to work out how to shut down the mega reactors near here; we might be able to adjust to the higher levels of radiation like the grounders did after the bombs; we might be able to repair the Mount Weather bunker to make it radiation proof, although that would only save so many; we might be able to find other bunkers – there surely can’t have been only the one built: so yes, we might die, but we are going to do all that we can to make sure that we don’t. If anyone is particularly good at computer work, thinks they may be good at welding, report to Raven. For the time being, we plan on making a real peace treaty with the grounders, although we’ve been told that that won’t be a problem now that we have neutralised their greatest enemy; on making sure that the mountain bunker is 100% radiation proof in case we can’t stop the increase in radiation; and on trying to contact the ARC. Any more questions?”

“When we first came down here you said the ARC was running out of oxygen” Atom began, a little hesitantly, but on seeing Bellamy’s nod of encouragement pushed on, “so what are they going to do?”

It was Raven who answered. “We’re going to try to think of ways by which they can conserve oxygen, or make some; “

“Float Factory, it leaks” was shouted.

“No, we don’t want to have to …” Bellamy tried to talk but was interrupted by Raven.

“No, John’s right; Factory Station leaks air all the time. If they could move everyone out into the other stations and seal it off; that would buy them a bit more time.”

“Okay, we can point out that there is now a load of empty rooms in GoSci that can be used, maybe some of the Council like my Clarke’s mom could live in one and open up a family suite, that sort of thing. We also want to get the Commander’s agreement to some more coming down here; families, skilled workers that will give us more help in doing what needs to be done here. It is possible that they may be able to land somewhere else, we don’t know without further investigation. What I do know, those who live here with us are our people, and Clarke and I will protect our people, all our people. If anyone can think of anything else, let me know.”

It was Charley Paul who came up the one answer that the group were waiting for: “Algae” she said. “Algae used to produce around 40% of the Earth’s oxygen. If there is a way for your ARC to produce algae it will help with the oxygen.”

“Thank you; that is a big help. I’ll mention it to a few others to see if they can think of way to get it to the ARC.” Raven didn’t say that they had already thought of the answer but a few words around the camp soon came up with the answer anyway.

Maya took on the role of nurse. She wasn’t asked to do it, in fact she was asked if she wanted to do something else, but she insisted that she wanted to be a nurse and a physician’s assistant. It was a job that required her to only help the injured or sick and not have to line up another to die instead of the one being treated. It would also allow for a natural meeting with Jasper if Maya couldn’t muster up the courage to start talking to him the few times she was at the camp. Maya’s job request was gratefully approved. Molly decided that she wanted to train to be Maya’s assistant, someone to allow Maya to have some time off, to stand in when Maya was sick, or when the Med Bay was over run. No one could argue with that logic. Clarke pointed out that they would also need to have a younger person to train and for someone to be willing and able to be trained as a standby for her if they couldn’t get a doctor down from the ARC.

Charley took over Monty’s role of primary botanist (knowing what plants were good for food, medicine or poison) thus allowing Monty to work on the computers. His job was to search for other bunkers, both in north America for the grounders and elsewhere potentially for the people of the ARC, and to try to link (hack) into satellites to track radiation worldwide. Jasper shook his head in disgust at the idea of spending all day working on a computer and felt so sorry for his friend, until he realised that Monty would spend a lot of his time at the mountain along with the really cute new girl, Maya.

Paul worked with Raven, not as a mechanic, more of a really useful handyman who was very happy to turn his skills to anything he was asked to do. He knew the bunker inside out and knew of all the weak spots. He didn’t understand why a particular point was liable to leak, Raven tried to explain the reasons for the stress points so he could understand why they needed to do certain things, but for the most part it just went over his head. He was no Sinclair, but Raven came to rely on him, both professionally and as a friend.

Carol worked with Aruora on clothing. She admitted that she wasn’t particularly clever, but she could turn her hands to lots of useful things like knitting, weaving and sewing. She found it odd to be working for a teenaged Fox, but since it didn’t seem to bother Aurora that her boss was younger than her son, Carol decided not to let it bother her.

Vincent, it turned out, was very good with the children. He became one of the teachers and ended up overseeing the education and apprentice placement of all the under fourteens. He had very useful knack of knowing exactly what someone would be very good at after just a couple of conversations with them. Clarke and Bellamy insisted that everyone should have the benefit of a general all round education, but time should be found to help develop individual skills even for the youngest.

None of the former mountain people enjoyed their stints on latrine duty, but given that everyone else had to do it, they soon learned to keep their grumbling fairly quiet. And it was something to help them bond with the others over, the one topic that everyone liked to complain about.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is a saying that I once heard, no idea where, 'Some people would complain if they were hung with a silken rope' and I kept thinking that some people of the mountain might theoretically know that they should be grateful to the sky people for freeing them from the confines, but would still complain about the less than perfect living conditions that they had as a result. S4 Murphy is great, and I could imagine his snarky responses to people who were complaining, yet in S1 he is still a boy and I mentally combined the two.
> 
> Maya will get her reunion with Jasper soon, but it won't be all immediate lovey dovey. He hasn't been traumatised like he had in canon so is different to one Maya remembers.


	12. Peace Treaty

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clarke, Bellamy and Raven travel to negotiate a Peace Treaty with the coalition, and then the gang travel to celebrate its formal signing.
> 
> Skaikru get more than they bargained for as a result of the fall of Mt Weather.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it's not much more than 5 minutes since Clarke undergone surgery and carried out a long and complex surgery on Rhodes, but she is one of the leaders and she needs to be there. What can I say other than she is one tough woman!

Bellamy and Clarke, accompanied by Raven, Costia, Echo and Lincoln, made their way to Polis for the peace talks with Lexa. Bellamy, Clarke, Raven, Costia and Echo had talked and agreed that it would be premature for Skaikru to join the coalition; it would only lead to the same problems that occurred in the previous life. Being reminded of what led to Lexa having to kill her trusted friend and guard Gustus while he was tied to a post because he thought that Skaikru should not join the coalition, and that Titus killed Lexa in error instead of his intended target, Clarke, brought home how volatile it could be for them to formally join until they got to know each other better. Bellamy did, however, point out that the Commander had broken an alliance before so they needed something to show good faith that she would not do so again if it suited her.

“A signed Peace Treaty witnessed by all the Ambassadors or Clan Leaders is what you need” Costia said. “Lexa cannot go back on her word without being shunned if you have a formal treaty.”

It was not an actual guarantee that the Commander would not break the Treaty, but being shunned would be a strong deterrent for her not to do so. Also, as long as Skaikru held the mountain, they knew they would be safe from the grounders, or at least reasonably safe.

At first Indra and Gustus tried to keep Clarke separate from Bellamy, for what purpose neither knew but Clarke refused to talk about anything other than the most benign of pleasantries until she and Bellamy were standing together.

“It is not our way to have two leaders” Lexa tried to point out. “We find that problems occur when the two cannot agree. It is better to have one strong leader than two weaker ones.”

Clarke merely raised a brow in astonishment before advising “We have decided that it will be our way to have two joint leaders, each with their own strengths that combine to make an incredibly strong whole. If we disagree we know that we need to think more, or find more information to improve our plans because we know that none of us is perfect. I have skills and know things that Bellamy does not; he has skills and knows things that I do not. We prefer to share the responsibility so that each partner has the time to also enjoy life.”

Clarke noticed that Lexa looked a little taken aback at the idea of a good leader being able to enjoy life, as did some of the Ambassadors. Bellamy just smirked at her.

“Before we begin formal peace talks, perhaps you could tell us why we should make peace with you when you crashed uninvited and without warning into our territory?” Lexa asked.

Bellamy and Clarke had prepared for this question so it took only the smallest of eye movement, (noticed only by Lexa, Clarke observed) for Clarke to tell their edited and enhanced tale.

“Just before the apocalypse nearly 100 years ago, 13 space stations from all over the world were circling the earth to learn new things. One of the space stations, Polaris, was headed by a brilliant scientist Becca Franco, a distant relative of our own brilliant Raven.” Clarke paused a little for the names to penetrate. “Unfortunately, Becca had done somethings that we believe she came to regret: one she created a serum that could help peoples’ bodies to withstand higher levels of radiation, she did that for the crew of a space ship that was being sent to other solar systems to try to find more natural resources because humans had almost depleted the earth’s supply. Perhaps she did not regret that one so much since it did not seem to have any adverse side effects except it turned their blood black. We don’t think she lived long enough to determine that it could help cure certain diseases like cancer, although this part is not relevant to our story.

“Becca’s other main creation was an artificial intelligence, a piece of technology that could attach itself to a person’s brain and control their thoughts, their pain receptors, everything that the brain did could be controlled by this AI. This AI was given the primary purpose of saving the world, in other words, Becca wanted it to help humans be less wasteful of the earth’s resources, or at least that is what we think. However, the AI came to the conclusion that the best way to save the world was to get rid of all the humans so it initiated the launching of all the nuclear bombs. When Becca realised what the AI had done, she took one of the escape pods from Polaris station, and some of her black blood serum and came to earth. We know she survived the landing and the initial wave of the blasts because one of her friends tried to get the instructions on how to make the black blood serum from her and when she wouldn’t or couldn’t give it he sent a message to the person we believe to be her sister in space to try to persuade her to give it to him.”

This is where Raven butted in with the planned interruption “yeah, I didn’t see it but my mom said it was awful, Becca was being burned at a stake like some old fashioned witch execution while Bill’s followers were chanting something like ‘Blood, blood, we must have the blood.’ The idiot didn’t realise that the serum could only be manufactured in space ‘coz it needs zero gravity.”

“Thanks, Raven, for the detour into your delightful family history” Clarke pretended to be sarcastic while The Commander, Flamekeeper and Ambassadors were now hanging on to every word spoken. “Anyway, because the order to launch all the nuclear weapons came from Polaris, they were not allowed to join the other 12 space stations who came together to form the ARC and it was destroyed.”

Bellamy took over the telling of their tale. “While we, or rather our ancestors, knew that people had managed to survive the initial blasts it was thought that no one would be able to survive the hardships that were to come – radiation sickness, nuclear winter that would kill all plant life and therefore all animals would die. It was thought that if the radiation didn’t kill everyone, then starvation would and that the only humans left alive after a few years would be those in the 12 space stations above the earth. We thought that when we or our descendants came to earth we would be alone.

“We had not planned on returning yet: we thought the earth would need more time to fully recover, but the ARC is dying. Soon there will be no more oxygen for the people to breathe so a small group was sent to see if it was possible for humans to survive on the surface so that the rest of the ARC could also come down. We did not intend to land into someone’s territory, we had no idea that there would be anyone down here for us to announce our intentions to; but as soon as we did, we asked for the opportunity to speak to you, to apologise and to seek a way forward to the benefit of all so that we may save our people who will soon suffocate in the sky. That is our story.”

Lexa raised a hand to silence the mutterings amongst the Ambassadors and asked “What do you want from us?”

Bellamy continued to be the spokesperson. “Acknowledgement that the territory that previously belonged to the people of Mt Weather should now belong to us” Bellamy had to stop because of the outrage coming from the Ambassadors. Bellamy and Clarke could see that Lexa was torn by that statement so with a nod of encouragement from Clarke, Bellamy raised his voice to be heard. “Perhaps I could finish and then address any questions you have.” The mutterings died down.

“We would like, although we could manage without it, but we would like the assistance of a few fleet of foot people to assist us in making sure the acid fog facility is fully shut down so that it can never be set off again, not even accidently. We would also like your acceptance that some more of our people will come down soon. We do not want everyone to come down at once since it will be unmanageable from our perspective, but they will need some help to make and preserve oxygen up there which we hope you will have no objection to us giving. Because we now know that the lands around her are all claimed, we should like to use the extra time bought for them to try to find other lands that are unclaimed that they could land in so that they do not have the same issues as we are finding ourselves in, any advice that you could give us on that front would be gratefully received. We should also like time to move from our current site so that we can work out the best place to build our new homes etc on the mountain side. It will take time, but the forest will recover from our arrival. We would like agreement that we may trade with individuals or villages without hindrance and be safe from attack from your people. An agreement that if any of yours attack us we will be allowed to defend ourselves without repercussions from the coalition, if it is a few individuals they can be dealt with as individuals, but if a clan attacks then it is a declaration of war with that clan. We would hope that in those circumstances you would not feel obliged to side with the attacking clan. If we as a clan were to attack one of yours, we accept that the whole coalition would come to their defence.”

“What could you possibly have that we would want to trade with?” Clarke recognised the snarky Anya kom Trikru; “and do not say anything about your tek since we have managed fine without it for all this time.”

“I believe your Commander has enjoyed the benefits of some of our tech” Clarke noted and all eyes turned to Lexa.

“Yes, Raven had kindly given me a radio that allowed me to speak with people over a great distance. She said that you had planned to offer some as an incentive to a Peace Treaty?” the latter point was said as a question.

“Yes, that was before we gave you the benefit of removing your greatest enemy. That alone shows that we are worthy of being considered allies” Clarke said.

“And what about your healing abilities? Are you willing to trade that?” Lexa asked.

Clarke and Bellamy looked at each other and gave a little smirk.

“You think that is amusing?” Lexa was affronted.

Bellamy answered: “It is an example of what happens when one of us disagrees with the other. I was clear that we should trade our healing skills but Clarke was insistent that they should never form part of a trade agreement.”

“And how did you overcome your disagreement?” Lexa was the snarky one that time.

“My … a member of our team slapped me over the back of my head and said I was a selfish moronic eejit so I immediately realised the error of my ways and agreed with Clarke” Bellamy replied embarrassed.

Lexa looked like she thought there was more to the story. The simple truth is that it was Octavia and Bellamy was about to say ‘my sister’ before he realised that he should not acknowledge Octavia as his sibling. Clarke came to the rescue. 

“Don’t be embarrassed, Bell. The truth is that it was his mother who pointed out the error of his ways and I’m sure that if it had been anyone else that had done so the epiphany would have taken a lot longer to occur. I believe it is a skill that most mothers develop over time, they never forget, and never let you forget, that no matter your age or what you accomplish, you are always their child.”

Clarke allowed a short time for the sniggers to quieten. “No, we will give whatever medical help we can when we can and we will not make it part of a deal. I will teach any healer who wishes to come to me to learn and we will not expect to be paid. If anyone has a need and we can offer aid without it putting our lives at risk, we will give it gratis”

“But I did manage to get agreement to a slight compromise” Bellamy added when Clarke finished speaking. “If, after the help or treatment has been given, the recipient of said aid wanted to offer a small token of appreciation, it would be gratefully received.”

“Why after?” Lexa questioned.

“Because we do not want anyone to think that the quality of care that we give is in any way affected by the perceived value of any gifts” Clarke explained.

“What do you mean by perceived value?” one of the Ambassadors asked.

Bellamy answered that one. “If you have lots of hens, the value of one might not be much to you, but to us, who have none, the value is quite high. Let us offer you something that we have that you don’t that we could trade” and Bellamy went to take a box from besides Raven, opened it and made several slashes with his knife. He then took a few spoons and offered one to the Commander. “Try this” he said, knowing that one of the Guards would take first bite.

The guard took a sample of the cake and had the strangest look.

“Is it safe?” the guard was asked.

“I think so, Heda” he replied. “Perhaps I should try a piece from somewhere else just to be on the safe side” and he took a piece from another part of the cake. When the guard look at the smirks on the Skaikru faces, he turned a little embarrassed.

Raven took out a pile of small wooded plates and decided to put some of the cake together with a spoon on each plate and passed them out to the Commander and Ambassadors.

Clarke, Raven and Bellamy all started to eat some of the cake.

“Is this the chocolate cake that Costia told me about?” Lexa asked as she took a tentative bite.

“Yep, and she has already agreed to trade some leather for another one” Clarke replied.

“Quite a lot of leather, too” Bellamy added.

“It is good” one of the Ambassadors noted.

“She’ll probably trade slices of it to get something she wants” Raven slotted in. “That Costia is crafty when she wants to be. I admire that in a woman.” And Raven earned a glare from the Commander that was met with a smiling shake of the head in return.

“So you see, we have radios, which surely would be useful between Ambassadors and their clan Heda to communicate, we have cake, we also have a way of storing food that keeps it fresh for up to a year; we do have things that we could trade that you or your people might want. We wish to be friendly allies, not wary or waring neighbours” Bellamy finished.

Looking around, Bellamy could see that Clarke was starting to wilt. She should not have been standing for all this time. The Commander, seeing Bellamy’s concern also studied Clarke.

“Wanheda, Clarke” Lexa spoke, receiving everyone’s attention, “how is the man whose legs you removed?”

“I’m very pleased at how well he is recovering. I’m very confident that he will pull through and live an independent and useful life” Clarke replied.

“And what of you? Are you recovered from your cutting open?” Lexa asked.

“No she is not” Bellamy spoke. “She should not be standing for all this time since she still tires easily.”

“I am not weak!” Clarke was incensed.

“No” Bellamy agreed, “but you are human. You had to stand for hours to do Philip’s surgery when you should have been on bed rest which set your recovery back for weeks. You know that” he insisted.

Clarke sighed. “Bellamy is correct, Commander. I am supposed to be on house rest at the moment so, if I may, I should appreciate it if I could sit down.”

Lexa nodded to one of the guards who brought a chair from the outskirts of the room for Clarke to sit on. The chair was uncomfortable and it wasn’t much better than standing, but it was a little better. Clarke nodded her appreciation to Lexa.

There was only quiet murmurings as all the cake was eaten. Raven collected the plates and spoons, replacing them into one of the crates they brought with them. Sensing that the time was coming, she turned on the transmitter so that they might be able to hear what was being said when they were asked to leave the room.

“Don’t you think that freely giving away your biggest asset is making you appear weak?” was asked by the Azgedan Ambassador. “If your healing skills are as good as we have been told you could get everything you wanted from them alone.”

“I think that our actions at Mount Orlan showed that we are not weak” Clarke was cross.

“Mount Orlan?” Lexa questioned.

“I’m sorry, Commander. In honour of the warrior who gave his life to help us free your people and take the mountain, we re-named it after him” Bellamy explained. “We cannot return his life, but we can honour his sacrifice.”

“We value life” Clarke expanded her point. “We will give all necessities that will save lives free and clear and I think we are the opposite of weak for doing that. We do have wants, though, wants that we are currently unable to fulfil ourselves. We will trade wants for wants, we will not trade for needs.”

“What if you cannot meet your own needs? Will you expect us to meet them for you?” Anya snapped.

“Of-course we do not expect you to. We hope that you would offer us aid in our time of need as we would offer to you, but we have no expectation, nor do we require reciprocity for any gifts we offer” Clarke tried to keep the irritation out of her voice for being questioned for simply wanting to do what is right. “I admit that I would put my people first and aid would only be given free if it did not put our people at risk. If one of your people needed my skills, and one of my people needed my skills, and it was clear that neither one of them could wait while I healed the other, then it is my person who I would attend to first. But, as the Commander saw in the mountain, the injuries to my people were treated after yours, except for the minor ones that I knew could wait.”

“But what of your injury?” Lexa asked. “That one waited until all the others were treated and it was a serious one.”

“Yes, but I needed Nyko and Costia to learn as much as possible before they operated on me. It would have been a lot harder if I had to do it on myself.”

“Could you have?” Lexa was sceptical.

“Yes.” There was no other possible answer for Clarke to give. “I am strong and determined enough to do what I have to in order to survive, and I will harness that same determination in order to ensure my people survive.” 

“But what sort of things do you want so that my people feel they are offering something that you truly value?” Lexa asked. Clarke tried to work out why the Commander would phrase the question in that way.

“Swords and knives, bows and arrows if we are to move away from the use of guns to more traditional weapons” Bellamy said.

“Animals that we can breed from, hens, goats, pigs, sheep, medicinal plants, cotton plants, cocoa and coconut plants, rubber plants, lessons in wood carving, Trigedesleng, paper making, weaponry, all sorts of things we need to learn about earth and earth skills” Clarke offered.

“Any bits of old tech that you find might be of use to us, solar panels in particular would be great” Raven said.

“Thank you Skaikru” Lexa said. “The Ambassadors and I will now discuss your requests. You may rest in an ante-room while we talk.”

Once in the ante-room Clarke sprawled out on the most comfortable looking chair and let Bellamy and Raven fight over the other seats.

“Put these ear buds in” Raven said as she passed Clarke and Bellamy the hearing devices and inserted her own.

“Are we really going to let them keep the mountain?” a male voice asked. Clarke translated the trigedesleng.

“I say we insist they totally destroy it” Clarke recognised the voice of the Azgedan as she continued her translations.

Raven and Bellamy pulled out their buds since they were not able to understand the trig.

“That will destroy the medical facilities that they have offered the benefit of to us all” Lexa countered. “I say we agree to everything they have asked, but we also ask for them to destroy their faya guns.”

“But how many of their people do they want to bring down now? I say they should total no more than one thousand until we know we can trust them. If they have to come down they must settle away from our territory.”

That seemed to result in murmurs of agreement.

“My clan would like to offer them a token of appreciation for destroying the mountain men; we feel that it could only help to be on the good side of Wanheda.” Clarke tried to work out which clan that was from, but could not.

“Some of our people do also” said another.

“Perhaps at the signing ceremony they could be given then” Lexa said.

“And we should insist they bring more cake to the signing ceremony” added another.

“Is it true about Wanheda healing our people before hers in the mountain, Heda?” asked a quiet woman unknown to Clarke.

“Yes, there was a hole right through Jant’s abdomen. We were so sure she would die but Wanheda just told her to shut up so she could save her life. Two of Skaikru gave some of their blood to make up for some that Jant had lost. Next she treated Glyn who thought he would lose use of his arm but it is almost better now. Only then did she treat one of her own who had a wound in her leg.”

“What do you think about their story? Is it true about Becca Praimheda, or is it a different Becca?” Anya asked.

“The story matches that which happened to Becca Praimheda. It does mean that the saying blood must have blood has a different meaning to what we have lived” Lexa replied. “Perhaps some more talk with this Raven and with Titus and some meditation with the flame would help answer any dilemmas that come from that; but none of it is relevant to the current question. Are we all agreed then?”

There were murmurs signifying agreement.

They had guessed that the issue of their guns would be raised and had previously agreed what they would say so they were happy with the outcome.

A guard came to ask them to return to the Throne room. Clarke slipped her ear bud into a pocket so it didn’t risk falling out and raising questions.

“We have agreed in principle to sign a Peace Treaty but there are some details we need to agree” the Commander began. “The first thing is that you will destroy all your fayaguns” Lexa paused hoping to see a reaction from Bellamy and Clarke; she did not. “The second is that although you may live on the mountain, you do not live in it. Thirdly, until we have reached a new agreement, you only bring down more people so that your numbers do not exceed one thousand. Do you agree?”

The glance between Bellamy and Clarke was enough to alert the Commander to the fact that they were not going to agree.

“We will decommission all the guns found in Mt Orlan” agreed Bellamy, “and we are happy if you wish to send an envoy to see that it is done. We will not lose the guns we had previously. Without those weapons we are sitting ducks to you and even to animals since we have only Octavia who is well versed with a sword, Clarke with knives and Harper who is quite good with a bow and arrow. We need the guns to buy us time to learn to defend ourselves with your weapons. So like I said, we will destroy the guns that can shoot many times a second, but not our own. As to living in the mountain; winter is coming. We are not prepared for a winter. Most of us will live outside until the first frost and then move into the mountain for a period of up to four moons, unless there is still frost on the ground and we will move out once that has gone. We do not want to live trapped inside, but neither do we wish to die from the cold. As to the number of people we suggest come down soon, we were thinking that our numbers should be no more than 300 in the short term, maybe 500 a little later. One thousand is more than we anticipate we could assimilate at present.”

Lexa looked to the Ambassadors as they began to talk in trig. Clarke could understand, the others could not.

“It is reasonable, perhaps a time line for them to destroy all their guns, Heda?” was suggested.

“If the clothes they wear are an example of how thin their clothing is they will never survive a winter and I have been told they sleep in thin, material tents” Anya said “so I suppose they should not be forced to die outside” which sounded very begrudging. “Let them live in the mountain as long as we know that the acid fog can no longer work.”

There were no other comments, so Lexa nodded to indicate the end of the discussion.

“We agree to your desire for your guns except that they must all be destroyed after two winters. We will not argue against you living in the mountain once we know that the acid fog can no longer rain down on my people, but we would prefer not to have to visit inside.”

“Other than the coldest of days, we will maintain some accommodation outside” Clarke agreed. “The medical facilities are, of course, inside so anyone using them would have to be inside the mountain. As to the guns, we agree for our people that they have a period of six seasons from the time they land to cease all use of guns except for a total of a dozen guards. That means our current people have until the end of two winters to learn your defence techniques, but new people landing also have a similar length of time.”

Lexa nodded her agreement.

“There is one issue that we would like to raise, it is not a condition of the Treaty, but with all the Ambassadors here it is perhaps best to talk about it now” Clarke began.

On receipt of a nod from the Commander, Raven began to talk. “We have discovered that the mountain people had access to a missile silo.” The puzzled looks caused Raven to pause and rethink her wording. “A missile silo is a large bunker, underground, from where very large bombs can be sent to anywhere in this land. We do not know where this silo is. We need to be very careful that we do not do anything that could cause the missiles to launch or blow by accident. However, once we do locate it, we should like to send a team to wherever it is to make sure those missiles are decommissioned. We will ask for an escort from the clan on whose land it is.”

“Why not just leave them? They have not … launched or blown in all this time?” Lexa hesitated over the unfamiliar terms.

“Because they have been there for over a hundred years and will have been slowly becoming unstable. At some point they will blow; it could be ground tremors, a powerful lightning storm or just a sudden change in atmospheric pressure that could set them off. It might not happen for another twenty years, but it could happen tomorrow. That is why we want to find them. When they blow, if there are three missiles, as we think there are, they will destroy an area the size from Ton DC to Polis around the silo site. If there are more, the destruction will be worse, if there are fewer, the destruction will be less. It is up to you as to whether you want to take the risk. All we know is that they are not near Mt Orlan so we should be fine.” Raven made sure to emphasise the point as to whose benefit that request was really for.

“When we meet with the Leaders to sign the Treaty in ten days’ time we shall discuss it then. We shall also then discuss possible land for the rest of your people who will not settle with you” Lexa declared.

Using one of the rovers meant that the journey to Polis only took one day. They were warned, however, that for the actual signing they would need to attend a feast that would last long into the night. Clarke hoped that by then she would have more of her customary strength back so would not look weak to the other leaders, particularly Nia of Azgeda. (And she wouldn’t particularly want to appear weak in front of Anya again, either.)

Raven used the radio in Mt Orlan to contact the ARC. She told them that the land was inhabited by people who were not too happy at a bunch of people crashing into their land, narrowly missing burning down a village full of innocents and did not want any more to do so. Knowing that the ARC was running out of oxygen it had been agreed that if the ARC could get the shuttle up and running they could use that to bring some people down to stay before winter and return with vats of water and other plants so that they could grow algae everywhere on the ARC to help increase their oxygen while the Grounders considered other areas that could be suitable for the ARC people to live, but that could take a little time. Raven also mentioned the idea of moving the people out of Factory Station and sealing it off, after removing everything that could be repurposed, of course, because it leaks oxygen like the proverbial sieve.

The ARC called together all their experts to discuss the ideas to save and increase their oxygen usage and it was agreed that if a further 250 people could come down very quickly it would be enough to buy them enough time to get through the winter at least. The Farm station were very pleased to find an old algae farm in the GoSci that Raven told them one of the delinquents admitted to seeing when they were somewhere where they shouldn’t have been. It gave them the blue print to have more made. The more they could make, the more oxygen they would produce, and algae was a nutritional food source too so it could make sure that there were no food shortages for people to suffer through.

At the next call, Raven raised the issue of the increased radiation and the possible reasons and asked them to investigate what they could. In a private minute while talking with Sinclair Raven managed to ask him to make sure he was one of those coming down. Clearly hearing what Raven was saying, he agreed.

Two rovers with Bellamy, Clarke, Raven, Octavia and the eight pre drop assistants left for Polis for the formal signing of the Peace Treaty. Although it was not actually requested Skaikru took two large chocolate cakes, a light fruit cake and a large coffee cake as a contribution to the feast. Each cake could be cut into 20 good sized portions, but if there were more than 80 people in attendance then the portions would be cut smaller. John, the baker and the one in charge of portioning grumbled that he was the one who had done all the work for the feast but he would be the one who would not have the night off.

Before the formal ceremony, Bellamy and Clarke were given a few minutes to read through the Treaties. Unfortunately one copy was in Trigedesleng and neither of them was supposed to be able to speak let alone read that language, but a quick glance through by Clarke showed that there were some differences between the copies. She didn’t know if that was deliberate or otherwise. She called for Echo.

In front of Gustus, who Clarke knew well would report everything said to Lexa, Clarke asked Echo to read and translate aloud what the copy in Trigedesleng said so that she could confirm it was exactly the same as the copy in English.

Two factual differences were found, both would not have been in Skaikru’s favour. Clarke, as assisted by Echo made the changes in the Trigedesleng copy and initialled the changes and asked the Commander to also initial the changes. The look on the Commander’s face as she stared at Titus was priceless. Clarke correctly assumed that it was Titus who made the changes and that it was not by the Commander’s order and wondered if Titus was going to be more deadly in further attempts to undermine the Treaty. ‘I bloody hope not’ she thought.

“I think that the person who wrote these Treaties shows a remarkable ability to translate and write in both languages” Clarke said making it appear that she thought the errors were accidental. “Although I speak fluent Spanish and French, as well as English of-course, I’ve never been able to master the ability to write them as fluently as I speak. And now neither language is useful. I hope that I, and many others from our kru, are soon able to speak your language as well as you speak ours.”

The formal part of the ceremony was for Titus to read out the Treaty in Trigedesleng before the Commander signed both copies, and for them both to be signed by Bellamy and Clarke, before being signed as witnesses by all the Leaders of the clans except Flokru who were represented by their Ambassador. Clarke remembered that Titus wanted Luna to be hunted and killed by a traitor’s death for abandoning the conclave, Lexa compromised by banishing her from Polis.

Once all the signatures were completed, a toast was offered by Lexa to new friends, while Bellamy replied on behalf of Skaikru. 

Then one of the clans announced that they wished to present Skaikru with small tokens of appreciation for the destruction of the mountain. Yujledakru leader said that they were not close to the mountain so were generally free from the terror it wrought, but over the years seven of their clan were taken and killed by the mountain. Seven people came out each carrying two plants, one cotton and one coconut. Then seven children each carried a chicken: six hens and one cockerel, perfect for breeding. .

“We were not able to gain vengeance for our lost people. Thank you for doing so” their leader said.

Clarke had tears of appreciation running down her face. “This is so overwhelming. We can’t thank you enough for these gifts; they mean so much to us; thank you.”

Ouskejonkru said that eleven of its clansmen were released from the mountain, and one died. One of the eleven released had been injured and was the leader’s son. “I cannot give enough to offer fair recompense for all you have done. We hope this will be enough” and 11 goats and one stallion were brought through.

Clarke and Octavia immediately went to the horse, to admire it.

“He is utterly magnificent” Clarke breathed. “I feel that you are being too generous, although not even the finest animal can compare to the pleasure we received from freeing your people. Thank you. We will make sure that they are treated well.”

And it went on with each clan offering something to Skaikru: Pelts from many animals from Azgeda, (Nia’s smile appeared nowhere near her eyes); swords and knives, from Podakru; more plants, medicinal Clarke thought, from Louwoda Kliron and more yet from the Trishanakru; fishing nets from Floukru; two more stallions from Ingranronakru (Clarke thought that they would be charged a great deal for some mares at some point); three large crates full of old tech from the Sankru; Delphikru solved the mare problem by offering two mares; Boudolankru offered six saddles, there had clearly been some collusion; and then, finally Lexa spoke.

“Before I offer the gifts that I have chosen for you, I wish to ask, why did you wait and offer to save the civilians in the mountain before you released the air? Two of my people died who might have been saved if you released the air immediately.”

Clarke looked horrified, and for a brief moment there was a flash of satisfied interest in Queen Nia’s eyes, not that Clarke was aware enough to notice it. “The three people held automatic weapons, guns that can fire five or more bullets per second. If all three were to fire, even after I pulled the lever then there would be a lot more than two people dead. I hoped that at least one of them cared enough about someone in the mountain to put down their gun. The fact that two people lowered their weapons, and the one who did fire took the time to kill his own people before turning to shoot at the cages meant that a lot fewer people died than would have done otherwise. It was a gamble, yes, but although I am sorry that you lost two of your people, if I hadn’t taken that risk, it is very likely that you would have lost a lot more and there would have been more severe injuries to treat.”

Lexa looked almost proud. Clarke guessed that the Commander had known that there was a good reason for giving the option to surrender to the people in the mountain. Lexa then indicated that someone bring through the gifts she had prepared. “Trikru did not wish to offer something as a clan, they feel that allowing you to stay and not killing you all on sight is showing sufficient gratitude” Lexa said with a smirk towards Anya, Clarke only laughed; “but I know that the individuals freed wish to offer personal tokens of thanks later. My personal tokens of thanks are to you, Wanheda for the care and dedication you showed towards all my people while you carried out this battle and in the immediate aftermath.”

Inside one of the wooden boxes was a beautiful carved chess set. There were slight differences in the pieces indicating that they were done by hand, possibly a number of different hands. “Costia told me that you like this game and asked for assistance from one of your people to design the set. I have Becca Praimheda hum in satisfaction at the idea of playing and I know she would like it if you could teach me the rules.”

Clarke could only nod in agreement, but knew that it wouldn’t be long before the Commander would need a much better opponent than she was – perhaps if Wells came for a visit he could offer to play.

The other gift was a large crate that when opened was shown to be full of books. All of Skaikru exclaimed over the contents; handling them reverently as they carefully opened them to look at the words. Clarke heard a muttered “we know what to bring as gifts that they want now” and knew that they would receive more books in the future.

“Your gifts to us are overwhelmingly generous. We thank you so very much. They will all be treasured” Clarke said.

“They most certainly will” Bellamy added. “We are in your debt, thank you.”

“As you said previously, gifts are given freely with no requirement for reciprocity. We are even” the Commander insisted.

Through it all Queen Nia stared with cold hatred at Lexa, and occasionally sent an equally vicious glance Clarke and Bellamy’s way. They would need to be careful of Azgeda.

The next day, bellies still full from all the food they had eaten, head’s aching from all the wine they had drunk, Skaikru, minus Zoe, Fox and Harper who kept an eye on the goats, headed back to their camp. Some would return with two trucks for the items they couldn’t fit in the rovers. Clarke and Octavia decided to ride home on their new horses while leading the others. The goats would ride in one of the trucks, and Clarke didn’t envy the person whose job it would be to load them!

Once everyone and everything was back at their camp – now a little more crowded with the new menagerie, they began to prepare for the arrival of more people from the ARC.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As a general rule, missile silos are located in the middle of nowhere and I know that Raven would be able to locate the one controlled by Mt Weather, but they want to pay their cards close to their chest and try to get more of a feel for which of the clans are more likely to play nicely.
> 
> I know canon had no shuttle, but with 12/13 space stations all linked together I don't believe for one minute that there wouldn't be at least one shuttle. I picture it a bit like a concorde - sleek rather than stout.


	13. Skaikru Gets Bigger

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More people from the ARC come down to join Skaikru, some are more welcome than others.

Atom and Stirling were in charge of building the huts for people to live in on the mountain. Their exact location was approved by Raven because she wanted to be able to hook up rudimentary running water, even though it would only be two months before they would fall back into the mountain to live through winter.

There was a large fire pit at the centre of the village with a grill for limited outdoor cooking and eating and a communal hall with some roughly hewn tables and benches. Latrines, sex segregated, were built so that those outside would not need to go into the mountain if they accepted the primitive facilities. The huts were of various sizes and could be partitioned if appropriate. There would not be enough for everyone, but Bellamy had assured them that the main aim was to get through winter and then worry about longer term issues in spring. The possibility of another apocalypse was clearly weighing on their minds.

Two sleeping huts were built that would be as insulated and waterproofed as much as possible so that someone could sleep outside in all but the worst winter’s nights. Fox had already been charged with ensuring that there a few sets of clothes for those outside that would keep them warm.

Back at the drop ship site, Mbege was supervising the building of two new dormitories. The one that the under 12s currently slept in would be used by those under ten, another would be used by the 10 to 12 year olds and the third by the 13 to 15 year olds. Sixteen and 17 year olds had to share a tent with two or three others of the same sex. They knew that there would be some married couples coming down who would want their own quarters but until they had the full list it was difficult to do too much planning.

Those who were working in the mountain spent most of their nights there so it was agreed that their accommodations in the camp would be surrendered, and Clarke and Octavia agreed to give up their tent and sleeping bags and would make do with what they could find on nights they were there. Maya’s bed was put in with her dad and Beppi since it was clear that Philip would not be returning to the site and she would only need a bed there occasionally since she spent most of her time looking after Philip (and Clarke on the rare occasions that she let her) in the mountain.

Back on the ARC work was progressing on preparing their only shuttle for the return trip. There would be 300 people on board going down, 50 of whom would return with vats of water, pots of plants and other things that the Council had been assured would help make their lives better while they stayed in space awaiting their time on earth.

The few remaining delinquents had all been moved a section of the prison that was sealed from the rest. Abby had taken Clarke’s slightly sarcastic suggestion and had moved into Clarke’s old cell. Even though she could leave the room any time she wanted, it brought home to Abby just how lonely Clarke had to have been during her time in solitary, something she had not thought of before because Clarke had always been a bit of a solitary child. Thelonious and Wells had taken three adjoining cells, two to be bedrooms and the one in the middle to be their living quarters. David Miller would have taken another until it was agreed that he would be one of the 250 to remain on earth and join Skaikru.

Thelonious made a public announcement to all the residents explaining about the oxygen problem and the solution of the earth asking for volunteers to go there. He said that they would not split families so first choice would go to parents of children already there, and to whole families or unattached people. None of the Council would be able to go. He didn’t say that the reason no members of the Council could go was because they would not agree to being led by Bellamy Blake and Clarke Griffin and that they would need to make a different settlement when they found a suitable place to colonise.

People who wished to go to earth were told of the people who already lived there and about the Treaty that had been signed, adding that when the rest of the ARC came down they would be required to settle in a different area and so would not be joining those already there. They were also warned that Bellamy Blake and Clarke Griffin were in charge and that temporarily, accommodations would not be as comfortable as those on the ARC. Those who thought that their accommodations on the ARC were pretty uncomfortable couldn’t understand how that could possibly be the case and regarded the settlement of the ARC in another area as a positive rather than the negative that Thelonious seemed to think that it was.

A lot more than 250 wished to go down to earth so each Head of Department was told to meet together to select those going and those staying as a group to make sure that a balance of skills, both on the ARC and on earth was kept and that given the possibility of the earth’s imminent demise once again, to make sure the balance of necessary skills stayed with the ARC, but that more longer to live people went to the earth unless they had necessary skills required for the ARC. Those who had no particular skills would be chosen by the Council to make up the numbers.

The only times that discussion was required before agreement was when Sinclair chose himself to go and Kyle Wick to remain and Abby chose Jackson to go and herself to remain. Sinclair said it was because Kyle was already almost as good an Engineer as he was and would only improve with time, especially with Thelonious to guide, whilst he was at the top of his own game and would only become less effective over time. Abby said that she would have time to train another Eric Jackson, who had just completed his training, but there would be no time to train another her, and the 2,000 remaining on the ARC needed her skills more than the few hundred on the ground. She did, however, ask if she could be one of the 50 who would go down but return so that she would have the opportunity to talk to Clarke about her decision.

It was pointed out that once the shuttle was ready it would need a long smooth runway on which to land and take off, something that was not currently available. If the old runway was found to be in a reasonable condition underneath the land reclamation of the old Washington Dulles airport it was thought that would be the best place to land, mainly because it was closest, and they had a good relationship with Trikru. It would mean that there would need to be an agreement about free movement of people and vehicles until everyone was either with the camp or on Mt Orlan, or they were back in space. If that did not prove acceptable, the next best option was the old Kennedy Space centre in Florida which was Yujleda territory and a lot further away.

Luckily, Raven declared that the runway at Dulles was, with a little work, acceptable. Anya agreed that the shuttle could use that area provided Skaikru provided a cake slice for each of the Skaikru people who be travelling through her territory; that included the Skaikru who were already on land but would be travelling through to either prepare the landing strip or to escort them to their new homes.

“If we can clear the trees between the runway and our camp to make a clear path for our vehicles, why don’t we just give you 20 large cakes that can each be cut into 20 good portions so that we don’t have to keep track of who comes and goes?” Clarke suggested. “Would that be acceptable to you?”

Anya smirked at Clarke agreeing to the offer but added “If you need any of my warriors to assist, that will be extra!” 

Clarke could only laughingly agree, and decided not to use Trikru unless absolutely necessary. Murph was already going to have a fit at having to produce all the cakes. Luckily, as long as they had the ingredients, they were not actually difficult to prepare so a lot of the work could be left to the junior cooks.

It turned out that many of the Trikru freed from the mountain cages wished to do something to help Skaikru as their small tokens of thanks for their freedom. When Clarke was told of that she suggested that each give one day of work for Skaikru. Anya said that it was too little and would insult those offering. Clarke then said one day before winter, and three days after winter when Skaikru would need the help most. That was finally deemed acceptable.

It took only half a day to clear and prepare the runway with the help of 40 former Mt Weather captives. They insisted that they must do more work. Their other half day was spent felling and de branching trees that would be pulled to Mt Orlan to help build homes after the winter, or that was what they were told (since they would be used to help build homes after the nuclear winter that was approaching it wasn’t really a lie).

The day of the shuttle’s landing finally arrived. Trikru people were warned to stay well clear of the runway to avoid burns. All the vehicles at Skaikru’s disposal, plus Octavia and Clarke on the two strongest horses arrived waiting to greet the new arrivals. Large barrels of water had been loaded onto the trucks and would be secured in the shuttle by those waiting to be moved since it would take at least five round trips to get everyone at their new destination. They didn’t know everyone who would arrive, they were only told broad details, although Clarke did know that Wells would arrive but would be leaving to return to the ARC. She hoped that Wells would be brave enough to ride with her on the horse back to the camp.

Many Trikru watched as the 300 Skaikru disembarked the enormous birdlike monster. Each was carrying a bag, some holding the hand of a child as they stared around them with fear and awe. It was late summer, early autumn, but still warmer than the ambient temperature on the ARC. Clarke didn’t wait for everyone to disembark before she got amongst them and started to direct them to the vehicles.

“Wells!” Clarke called, “are you up to ride on a horse with me back to our camp?”

Wells was taken aback because he thought that Clarke still hated him. He then heard: “Mother, I didn’t know you would be coming down: you’re not on the list.” Clarke had realised who it was that turned Jake in.

“Clarke, baby, no I’m not staying. I wanted the chance to see you, talk to you” Abby was hesitant, sensing that the reunion would not go as she had expected.

“Why? If you wanted to see and talk to me you could have done that at any time I was in prison but instead you chose to leave me in solitary to almost lose my sanity after you had been the one to put me there. If you wish to view our medical facilities I shall arrange for you to have the tour with Jackson. Maya, our nurse will be leading it. Excuse me, I have people to greet.”

Clarke went to talk to the pilot, Kyle Wick. She remembered him from the previous life and had liked the guy. He said he was stoked to have the opportunity to fly and couldn’t wait to do it again, and then again when bringing more people to earth. He introduced Sinclair, who Clarke recognised again.

“I think I’ve met you before” Clarke said to Sinclair to try to cover for the feeling of familiarity.

“Well, yes you have. I am surprised you remember since you were not that old when your dad used to bring you to Engineering. The ARC sure does miss that man, and I’m sorry about what happened to him, to you too.”

Clarke smiled at him. “Not your fault, but more is coming back to me. I can fit what I remember, what my dad told me and what Raven has said about you all into one picture now and I have to say that I feel that I know you quite well already!”

Sinclair and Kyle said they would supervise the loading of the barrels and the unloading of the little cargo they were able to fit while Clarke and her people moved some of the newcomers to their new homes. Clarke was not to worry since Abby would make sure that everyone was calmly awaiting their turn to leave the airport. Clarke didn’t worry since she would be staying at the airport until the last Skaikru had left and she would be making sure all was well, not Abby.

Seeing the uneasy looks they were giving the Trikru Clarke laughed at them. “They are only trying to intimidate you so you know who is boss, don’t fall for it” she said. “Hey, Anya, come here, I want to introduce you to some more tech heads, almost as bad as Raven.”

Anya’s scowl turned even fiercer looking as she ambled over to Clarke and the two men.

“I do not like tek” Anya said to them in greeting.

“I don’t either when it doesn’t do as I want it” replied Sinclair diplomatically. “But it does obey me a whole lot more than some people do” he made a pointed look at Kyle.

“Then get rid of the people” Anya offered.

“Why do you think I am leaving him to return to the ARC while I stay in this beautiful land?”

Anya looked at Kyle who tried to smirk charmingly at her but couldn’t hide the fear when she said “I would have just killed him” and walked off.

“She was only joking, right?” Kyle asked. Clarke smirked and shrugged her shoulders.

Seeing that just about everyone had disembarked Clarke took control.

“Everyone listen up” she shouted. “We will take you all back to the camps we have but it will take time so please be patient. As you see some of our neighbours have come to meet you. I assure you they will do you no harm and I trust that you will respect them. This is their land that we are on and they are doing us a favour by allowing us to use it. The first people to be taken to their new homes are the families with young children under ten, please make sure you have your personal belongings with you and make your way to the trucks.”

People were milling about; some moved hesitantly to the trucks, never having been in one before; some never having even seen one in movies before. The children were less afraid then the adults about these new situations.

Clarke saw one of the guards reach for his shock baton – they had insisted that no guns be brought down. Immediately Clarke grabbed his arm and took the baton from him.

“Why don’t you go and collect all the batons and bring them to me? They will not be needed here” Clarke suggested.

“Miss Griffin I presume, there is a crowd of frightened people, we need to keep control” he tried to take his baton back from Clarke.

“And we will keep control by being calm and in control of ourselves. Collect all the batons, guardsman …?”

“Shumway, Commander” he offered and Clarke immediately knew she had to be very careful and make sure that he had no access to a radio.

“Guardsman Shumway, I don’t know if you are one of the Guards staying down here, or returning back to the ARC, but Bellamy Blake and myself are in charge of the people from the sky while they are on earth. The only titles used are that of Chief and the Chief Guardsman is David Miller. If you or anyone else needs to use force to keep people calm then I assure you that you have failed. Now, for the final time, collect all the shock batons and bring them to me, let me grab someone to assist you.”

Clarke called for Octavia to assist Guardsman Shumway to collect all the batons. Octavia remembered exactly what Shumway had done in the previous life just as well as Clarke and knew that she would need to watch him closely all the time he was with them. Luckily for Octavia, Lincoln had not left her side so he was able to present a suitably intimidating figure to the traitorous guard.

Marcus Kane walked up to Clarke and asked if she was sure she was doing the right thing. Clarke gave Kane the same speech she gave Shumway and thanked him for not trying to undermine her authority.

“You and Blake are in charge down here. When we all come down we want smooth, even if geographically distant, relations between us. Shumway was warned who the leaders were when he chose to come down to settle but I don’t think he realised how hard he would find it. Blake, a former cadet, might have real trouble with him so I’d watch out if I were Blake.”

Clarke realised that Kane had a point and resolved to keep a special eye out for trouble.  
Then Clarke caught a glimpse of another person she was not happy to see: Charles Pike. He stood alone, staring at the Trikru who were there with distrust and anger. Clarke didn’t know how well he would take to being led by her and Bellamy, she would find out later and take any action necessary to make sure that the peace was maintained; both within Skaikru and between the clans.

The first batch of new arrivals were taken to the drop ship site where they were greeted by Bellamy and warned that it was their temporary home only until they were better prepared at Mt Orlan. The second batch, made up of the medical and farmers were taken to the Mountain to be greeted by Monty, thrilled to see his parents again, Jasper who was the general host and Raven who introduced Maya as their resident nurse.

Both Eric Jackson and Abby were amazed at the progress of Philip Rhodes and wondered if Clarke had been too premature in amputating his legs. When they saw the damage done to his guts and internal organs they couldn’t believe he was still alive. He would always need a colostomy bag and a catheter. Maya said that Philip was gaining strength in his arms so that he could be totally independent once Raven had finished customising his chair, and would soon be taking care of all his personal needs himself.

“But why go to all that bother for a man so clearly dying?” Abby asked. “Why not just let him die with his dignity intact instead of keeping him living like this?”

Raven and Maya didn’t know which of them was more shocked. The woman who asked this was the woman who gave birth to and raised Clarke. How was it possible that both could be doctors, yet be on opposite ends of the spectrum when it came to patient care?

“He’s our best shoe maker” Raven said as if that alone was a good enough reason.

“Ben, his son, says he still gives the best cuddles” Maya said as if that alone was a good enough reason.

“Because when I was questioning Clarke’s commitment to making sure Ben gets all the help he needs Clarke promised me that every member of her people would get the best care she could offer them” Philip said tired of them talking about him as if he wasn’t there. “My son wanted me to live, so I wanted to live, so Clarke promised to do all she could to make sure that I live. At every point Clarke told me what the risks were and asked me if I wanted to carry on. I have been treated with care and dignity by Clarke, Maya, Nyko and Costia who have helped take care of me, and by everyone else who has come to see me, except for you.”

Abby was so taken aback that her medical competence appeared to have been called into question by this man who had gone against all her advice and carried on with a child who would only grow up to be a drain on resources.

“And what about your son? Who will be looking after him?” Abby asked.

Raven snorted her amusement and Maya just smiled.

“Ben is perfectly happy with all the other children who have no parental figures available. He has his job, which he is teaching to Carrielee, one of the youngsters who used to live here, so that there is always someone to ring the wakeup bell” Philip said. “I admit I was worried when Bellamy and Clarke said everyone would have a job, but they made sure that Ben was made to feel as valuable as everyone else and I know that he will always feel valuable with them in charge.”

Abby was feeling very chagrined at how Clarke was clearly the top dog now and she wasn’t even 18 yet. Then they discovered that not only was Beppi Mkembi still alive, but was apparently well again.

“Yeah, he and my dad have struck up a good friendship” Maya said. “Beppi started to get well after Clarke did a bone marrow transplant for him.”

“Why would Clarke waste limited supplies on carrying out a bone marrow transplant?” Abby asked.

Maya and Rhodes shook their heads in disgust. “She clearly didn’t think it was a waste” Maya said. “Clarke will always try to do what she can to save who she can.”

Eric and Abby could find no fault with the way the medical facility was run. They did however question Maya’s announcement that Clarke and Bellamy had decreed that everyone, Grounders or Skaikru, who needed medical attention would be treated to the best of their ability without looking to rations or ability to pay. Everyone had agreed to be a blood donor and could be called upon at any given time to donate, knowing that their health would not be put at risk.

The farmers were in clover looking at the facilities in the mountain. Monty reminded them that they didn’t rely only on the hydroponic farm for sustenance, but they also had some live animals for eggs and milk (and meat when their time came) and that fresh meat and vegetables were often brought in from the forest. It was John Murphy who would direct the farmers to grow what crops since he was in charge of food, as long as it didn’t go against what Clarke wanted grown for medicinal purposes, or what Zoe wanted for fabric to make clothing and bedding. 

“There will probably be a team set up to oversee the farm now that we have one. I don’t know who will have overall responsibility. Clarke and Bellamy will sort it all out later. Just keep growing what you think in the meantime and let Clarke or Bellamy know if there is something you think we should grow but don’t have the plants for at the moment and they might be able to trade for some” Monty finished.

Back at the airport Clarke was talking to Anya. She pointed out Pike and Shumway and said that they were two people whom she didn’t trust to be loyal to Skaikru.

“I will keep a close eye on them, and if necessary eliminate them” Clarke said. “You will need to watch them if they come into your orbit. If they do something that results in their deaths we will require nothing more than an explanation.”

Anya looked at Clarke with more respect than she was want to and simply nodded.

Wells walked up to Clarke and Anya and introduced himself.

“Wells is the best chess player I know, so I’m hoping he’ll have a chance to play the Commander while he is here” Clarke said. “The Commander did say that she was hoping to have the chance to welcome the new members of Skaikru to earth, so perhaps then.”

Anya looked at Wells as if to pay attention to him for the first time but Clarke was well aware that Anya would have already noted the calm young man and have taken in the fact that he was respected but disliked by most of those who came down. She would also have seen that Wells was aware of the mistrust but that he did not let it reflect in his behaviour. It was the sort of stoicism that Clarke knew Anya would respect.

Once the last of the people leaving by vehicle were gone, the cargo brought down was loaded onto the truck beds all was ready for the final journey of the day.

Most of the Trikru had trickled away once they realised that they would not see anything stranger than the clothes that Skaikru wore. Clarke bade Anya farewell, and thanked her once again for allowing them to use her land. Anya just reminded Clarke that she was still owed 12 cakes.

Lincoln, astride one of Skaikru’s stallions named Poseidon, Octavia astride another which she had named Helios, with a very nervous Finn sat behind her, and Clarke riding the third stallion named Triton with a stoic Wells sat behind her all set off for Mt Orlan. In deference to their passengers, they moved at a brisk walk, taking much longer than it would have done travelling by truck.

Lunch, which was eaten during a brief stop, was some deer jerky and an apple each. Both Finn and Wells commented on how delicious the food was. Lincoln looked baffled by such statements.

Octavia snorted “if you think this is delicious just wait until you taste your main meal. Murph has planned a special menu for the days the visitors are down here with the intention of sending you back to the ARC wishing you could have stayed. I think he is taking too much pleasure from the idea that he gets to make some of the higher ranked Arkers jealous. To be honest, everything tastes better down here.”

Clarke who had lived off Alpha fare which was better than the food anywhere else on the ARC could only agree.

Raven gave Finn an exuberant hug in welcome and warm two handed hand shake to Wells. Abby was nowhere in sight and Clarke just knew that it meant she was in the proverbial doghouse.

Mindful of Charlotte’s previous murder of Wells, Clarke ensured that Wells was never left unaccompanied. To give Wells, Finn and Kyle the full earth experience, they shared the their accommodation outside the mountain with Clarke, Raven and Octavia (although, to be honest, Octavia was more often than not to be found somewhere else with Lincoln, which also kept her away from Abby who might question who Octavia was). They all agreed that it was surprising how cold it got at night and could understand why a group would sleep together to share body warmth. Luckily, at no point did it ever move even in the slightest bit away from being platonic.

When they had a few moments to talk alone, Wells confessed that when heard about the plan to send a dropship to earth and that Clarke would be on it he had tried to think of ways he could ensure that he was on it too so that he could be there for Clarke in what he thought would be her hour of need.

Clarke snorted. “That would not have been a good idea to put you with 100 delinquents. The son of the man perceived to be responsible for the deaths of their loved ones, the man who made an announcement telling us that we’re expendable; no it’s a good job you changed your mind.”

“It was Kane. I don’t know what he saw but he said he knew I was planning something and that it would not end well for anyone. Besides Blake and Reyes were responsible for choosing who would go and it was doubtful that they would choose me over someone else. I could only agree with his assessment, and what you just said confirmed it.”

“I think we have enough control that it would be safe for you to stay now, if you wanted to” Clarke offered. “Or maybe wait until the next batch come down if there is another batch to stay with us.”

“We’ll see. We could play chess by radio. It’ll drive you crazy” Wells spoke the truth so Clarke told him that he could play with the Commander instead.

There was no doubt that earth food was so much better than ARC food. The adults who had balked at sleeping in tents thought that the food more than made up for it, and the children all thought that sleeping in a large room with all the other children didn’t need to be made up for. They were sad when they were told that when they moved into the mountain they would go back to living in family type accommodations; which reminded Clarke that they needed to consider how best to ensure that all the orphans were matched with suitable guardians. It was something that she thought Aurora, Beppi, Molly and Vincent could probably take responsibility for, and would probably do a damn fine job of it, too.

The water vats were filled and secured on the shuttle. Some medicinal plants had also been stored safely. The fleshiest part of ten deer and ten boars (some traded from Trikru) were wrapped and secured, and over 2,000 apples were picked and packed. There was enough meat and fruit for everyone on the ARC, regardless of station to have a little taste of earth. All that was left was to say goodbye to those leaving. 

It was poignant for Clarke to see Wells leave with a smile on his face and the words that he was proud of her in her ear. She hoped that he would stay with them eventually; he would make the perfect Ambassador. Hugging her mother goodbye was awkward. Clarke did love her mom but she was so disappointed that the love was not reciprocated in a way acknowledged Clarke as a successful woman in her own right. Clarke wondered if Kane and Abby would get together in the new life as they did in the previous and was slightly disappointed that she wouldn’t get to know Kane as well as she had previously.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why in canon did Abby not visit Clarke every day while she was in solitary? It's not as if Clarke could tell Abby something that she didn't know, and solitary is classed as cruel. That is something that always bothered me, and that Clarke didn't hate her mother for it as well as her father's death.
> 
> I know it's not clear in the chapter, but Finn stays. I have no idea what I'm going to do with him yet, a few thoughts are bubbling, but nothing is hitting me with enough force to want to use it - any ideas?
> 
> I have decided on Bellamy's romantic/matrimonial future and I'm afraid it's like nothing I have read about before so no Becho or Belarke - sorry for those wanting either of those ships. I've not yet settled on Clarke or Echo's future, or even Ravens. Hmph, I better get thinking since it is a lot to sort out.


	14. Troubles Ahead

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some people are not very happy about the way Clarke and Bellamy run Skaikru and want to change things.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter may be annoying or upsetting to people who suffer sever allergies, or know people who so suffer. If this applies to you then read with caution.

With the help of some Trikru, the vents for the acid fog were found and blocked off. Raven did say that if necessary they could blow the blockages since they were more for show for the Trikru than substance, but she hoped she was never required to.

More external housing was built on the mountain side, and running (cold only) water was arranged so that some degree of comfort was added. Most of the newcomers wanted to move into the internal housing as long as the doors were open, or at least unlocked, so they could leave at any time, as did Aurora, Beppi, Molly and those originally from the mountain, except for Maya. The younger children didn’t want to move inside but they had to do what their parents’ wanted. For the first time ever, the orphans were looked on with envy.

It didn’t take long for the drop ship site to be completely vacated by Skaikru, with agreement by Anya that they could return to remove more from the wreckage if necessary.

All the shock batons were stored in medical (one was put with each First Aid kit that went out with every hunting and gathering party) and the guns could only be held by guards who were actively on patrol, including those guarding the hunters and gatherers. This decree did not go down well with Shumway and his two fellow guards that came down. They made sure that their views were heard and that some of the other adults (including Pike) were on their side. It was difficult to know exactly how many were thinking of rebelling but both Clarke and Bellamy thought that they needed to nip the situation in the bud.

A meeting was called of all adults aged 16 and over. It meant that three 15 year olds were outside patrolling and four 14 year olds watching the monitors. In front of their people Bellamy and Clarke took to a small stage and called order.

“When you chose to come to earth you knew who would be in charge; that is correct, yes?” Bellamy began. There were some murmurs of agreement. “You knew that it would be different to life on the ARC; correct?” Once again there were some murmurs of agreement. “So we need to know, specifically, what it is about the way we run things that you are unhappy about. So now is your opportunity, speak now, raise your hand and you will have the chance to speak about things you would like to change. Come on, don’t be shy, you’ve been talking all week about unhappy you are, so now is your chance to raise the issues in a fair way that could lead to change. Pike, I know you have a problem or two so tell us, now” Bellamy pressed.

“I think it is completely ludicrous that we are led by a former guard cadet and a teenaged delinquent, a traitor no less, and we should call for an election of a new, proper leader” Pike stated to some cheers.

“Since you knew the situation previously, why did you choose to come down?” Clarke asked.

“Because I knew that you would not be able to keep order for long and would need some sensible intervention to help look after all our people” was the response.

“But we are keeping order; it is you who is undermining things. We have a home for everyone, we have food for everyone, we have no rationing of healthcare, we have a treaty with our neighbours. What is it that we have done that you are not happy about, or what more can we do to make things better for us?” Clarke persisted.

“You can cancel the Treaty with those savages for starters. We should not need to ask for permission to bring more of our people down to earth” Pike said to fewer cheers then he thought he might get with that statement.

“You do realise that without that Treaty you would not have been able to land here. You would all have been stuck on the ARC with the shortage of oxygen and no way of making more and the inevitable resulting culling. Sure, more drop ships could have come down but they are one way vehicles and not enough places for everyone so, again, death on the ARC. The drop ships could land anywhere, and without the Treaty the dropships’ people would be treated as invaders and everyone could be killed on sight, if they landed in territory belonging to savages that is. These so called savages saved my life; these so called savages have helped provide food and water to go up to the ARC for our people; these so called savages have given us so many gifts, the horses, goats, chickens, medicinal plants for starters. I’m not saying they are perfect, but then neither are we. The leaders of the ARC kill people who take medicine for their children, kill people who hit back at someone who attacks them, lock children up because their parents did something wrong, sent children and some adults down to the earth when they thought they were probably going to die because in their words they were expendable. I know who I think are the savages and it’s not our neighbours.” Clarke’s words were met with loud cheers.

“A vote” Bellamy called, “all those in favour of cancelling the Treaty with the coalition raise your hand.”

A total of 11 hands were raised.

“All those in favour of keeping the Treaty raise your hand.” Bellamy looked around and didn’t bother counting. “Motion denied by an overwhelming majority. Next issue.”

This time it was Shumway who spoke. “Why can’t all the guards carry their guns, or at least their shock batons, all the time?”

“Because you don’t need to” Bellamy answered. “If you don’t carry it you can’t discharge it at the wrong time and get yourself into trouble.”

“We are trained guards!” Shumway protested. “I am a Commander, and it’s ludicrous that not only am I not armed all the time, but I have lost my command.”

“Has there been any trouble that would have been easier to deal with if you had been armed?” Bellamy asked.

“No, but ..”

“How about we arrange for all guards to receive training in unarmed combat, to focus on restraint? Will that make you feel better?” Bellamy asked.

“Not a lot, no.”

“Chief Miller, have there been any problems with the guards only being armed while out on patrol?” Bellamy persisted.

“No, the only problems have come from the guards spending time moaning about it instead of doing their jobs. I do like the idea of training in unarmed defence, though, thanks” Miller replied.

“Okay, another vote” Bellamy called. “All those who want the guards to be armed all the time raise your hand”. Only eight hands were raised. “All those who want the guards to continue to be armed only when out on patrol raise your hand.” Once again the decision was clear. “Motion denied by an overwhelming majority. Other issues?”

“What’s this I heard about us all having to be blood donors?” one voice shouted from the middle of the crowd. This point gained some disgruntled mutters.

Since Medical was Clarke’s area she took over. “No one has to be a blood donor” and there was lots of relief. “If you have an objection to it then let us know in medical and your file will be noted that there are objections to blood donation and will never be called to give some, nor will you accidently be given a donation.”

“I don’t mind giving blood for my fellow Arkers” said Pike, “but I don’t want it going into the savages that you treat.”

“First of all, refer to our neighbours as savages again and you will be on report. It is disrespectful and incorrect, and if said to the wrong person could lead to trouble, so it is a form of Treason, and we know what you think about people who commit Treason. Secondly, we are Skaikru; the people still on the ARC could be called Arkers, not us. Thirdly, blood is stored ready for use at any time. It is given to who so ever comes in needing it. People are called to donate to stock up the supplies and can have no knowledge as to whom it will be given. The only exceptions are when an emergency one to one transfusion is needed, usually when a serious injury has occurred out in the field. We try to limit the blood donors to those aged 16 and over, and every one of the original Skaikru were happy to donate when necessary, even those younger than 16. Unless there is an absolute catastrophe, there will never need to be any rationing for blood. And fourthly, where possible, the people of the coalition who need treatment are typed and cross matched where possible, so might not even receive our blood. Are there any more questions about blood donation?” There were a few mumbles but nothing out loud. “Very well, another vote: all those who want to change the way we organise blood donation, raise your hand.” This time there were a number of hands raised and there required a proper count.

“Forty-six for change. Those in favour of keeping the current system raise your hands.” The count was 107. “The motion for change had been denied by a majority of 61. Any other issues?”

There were some quiet mumblings until one brave soul raised his hand, and on receiving a nod of encouragement went on to ask “What is happening about the increased radiation?”

Clarke and Bellamy had a silent discussion, before on receipt of a nod Clarke began to speak. “We know that the mega reactors on this continent were not safely shut down at the time of the bombs and that they are deteriorating and leaking radiation. The ambient radiation levels are still low enough for our health not to be effected, but they are rising. Our Engineering team is considering if it would be possible to send some people in to try to limit the damage. They have not yet reached a conclusion. The ARC is trying to get a feel on radiation across the earth, but as you know they are in a geosynchronous orbit so it is not easy for them, but we do know that they have been able to link to another satellite that shows some unexpected damage that could be caused by radiation, or it could have been a geothermic event. So far we have no further information. Just in case, steps have been taken to ensure that this facility is radiation proof so we will be fine, and our computer experts are searching for other possible facilities as are people on the ARC.”

“Will the people on the ARC be able to survive if they can’t come down here?” Glass, a former friend of Clarke’s from the ARC called.

“They can survive with their current numbers for a while longer. We do not yet know what effect the algae will have on the oxygen levels, but we do know that at one time algae produced nearly half of the oxygen on the earth, so we have hope. There is the possibility of more coming down if they cannot survive. Know that you have now become our people and are our top priority. We will not put you at risk to save others. If we can give aid without risking you, we shall. If we can give aid, but there is a risk to you, we will let you decide whether or not to risk it, and we will never ask you to do something that we have not done ourselves, risk or otherwise. Any more issues to raise? No, well, let me say that if any of you are unhappy about any decisions we make, you can talk to your Chief, or if that was unsatisfactory, come to us direct. Same goes if you have any suggestions on how we can make life better, and if anyone is really not happy with the way we run things, the next time the shuttle comes down, you can always go back to the ARC.”

Bellamy and Clarke left the meeting and Bellamy whispered to Clarke “was that last point just a suggestion?”

“No, it was also a warning” Clarke said. “We cannot have people like Shumway and Pike stirring up discontent, not when it puts our people at risk. Still, it went well, overall, don’t you think?”

“Yeah, we did good, Princess. So should I ask to arrange the unarmed combat training?” 

“Give me tomorrow to chat to Lincoln, then send Pike, Shumway, Harper and Miller to negotiate a trade with Anya for some training. Let Pike be the negotiator and make sure he knows what it is we can offer to trade. I know Anya wants a couple of radios, but won’t take them unless she feels she is giving us something that she thinks we need, something of equal value. She doesn’t really understand that the runway was a real need and it would have been very difficult if the shuttle had to land somewhere else. She might now that she saw how long a runway was needed for the take off so she might take them now that she thinks we may have gotten the best of a deal with her.”

Clarke then spoke to Lexa on the radio and arranged for Jackson and Maya to visit the main healing centre in Polis for a few days, to both learn and to teach. Clarke let Lexa know that she was setting up a sting operation that would either result in Pike and Shumway learning their lesson, or in sealing their fate. Raven elected to go with Jackson and Maya, armed with some slices of cake and three pairs of walkie talkies, to see if she could find anything worth trading for. She hadn’t been to Polis in the previous life and thus was looking forward to the trip.

Both Jackson and Maya were waiting for Raven in the rover before she had arrived to load up, so eager they were. It wasn’t until Raven reminded them that they needed to make sure they had enough food for their stay, and bedding in case they needed to camp that they realised they had not taken care of all the essentials. Eventually they were on their way.

When Clarke explained the detail of her plan to Lincoln he was happy to help and was sure that Anya would have no problem with her part, especially since the meeting was also a genuine negotiation and Anya did like to haggle. He and Octavia left to make sure Anya was on board and would return the next day just after breakfast. Lincoln and Octavia would ride while the others would travel in a rover. Then she explained her concerns and plan to Harper and Miller.

“Why don’t we just give them to Anya as a present?” Harper asked as Miller snorted. “I’m sure she would know how to bring them to heel.”

“Or how to get rid of the bodies if she got bored” Miller added.

“Yeah, yeah, I take it you two are happy to be my spies?” Clarke wanted to be sure.

“I certainly am” Harper said. “I don’t want people like that trying to spoil everything that you are building here for us and if that means eliminating the threat, then so be it.”

“What she said” Miller agreed.

The fly in the ointment was when Pike turned up with one of his farm station buddies to accompany them. “Clint can let me know if we can provide anything they’re short of over winter” Pike offered and Clarke had to agree that it was a reasonable point.

“That’s good. You’ll be in the rover for most of the journey, but will have to walk part of the way. Shumway and Miller are there for protection, and Harper is our best hunter and will see to any animals you encounter. They all know not to shoot unless absolutely necessary, it ruins the food unless it’s a clean head shot. Stay safe and report to Bellamy when you get back about the training sessions and to me about what we’re giving them in return if you can’t get us together to give one report.”

“Lincoln, thank you for leading them to Anya kom Trikru” Clarke said in rudimentary trigedesleng, knowing that if they were asked both Harper and Miller would be able to truthfully translate. “Don’t worry, Anya speaks excellent English, although she might pretend not to to see how you react; don’t give her the satisfaction” Clarke advised Pike.

Pike merely grunted and Clarke hoped that he would pass this test and show appropriate respect to the Heda of their nearest and closest neighbour.

“Clarke, Clarke, come in please” Harper called over the radio. “Clarke, we’re heading back. Pike, Shumway and Clint all appear to be suffering an allergic reaction to something. I have no idea why because we all ate the same thing but they have all swollen up. Pike’s bad, Clarke” Harper warned.

“This is Clarke. What did they eat and drink?” she asked. Could Anya have taken things into her own hands and poisoned them?

“A sort of nut and mushroom casserole. It was very nice I wanted to ask for the recipe to give to Murph, and we just drank water. There was some wine ready to toast with once we made the deal, but it wasn’t yet finalised. We all drank from the same cup.”

“Damnit!” Clarke said. “It sounds like a nut or fungus allergy. But why would it only affect the newcomers? Never mind, I’ll address that later, just get here as quick as you can.” 

Clarke called Bellamy to warn him what had happened and asked him to make an urgent announcement that no one was to eat anything with nuts or mushrooms until they had been cleared by medical unless they had already done so.

Clarke could only find two tracheotomy kits and two ampubags and so had to improvise using a chicken leg bone which she gave instructions to Bellamy on how to shape and how to make sure it, and his mouth, were as sterilised as was possible.

Anya and Nyko accompanied her people to the med centre. Clarke barely spared a glance and the Trikru Heda because she didn’t want to know the answer to her questions just at that time. Instead she focussed on her patients.

“I don’t’ think I can save Pike” Clarke said, “but Shumway will live as will Clint”.

“Wanheda, I don’t think Shumway can survive either. You do your best for him and I shall copy you and treat Clint if that is agreeable to you.”

“Uh” Clint said as he shook his head in rejection of the idea. 

Clarke sighed thinking that Clint would have to be added to the people who could not stay if he was not careful. “Nyko, I will treat Pike, and you treat Shumway. Clint can clearly wait until one of us is finished.”

“But Wanheda,” Nyko questioned while scrubbing his hands and arms, “why waste time on treating Pike, I do believe he cannot be saved.”

“Because like it or not, he is still one of my people and I will do my best to save them all.”

Clint was sat on the one of the chairs while both Shumway and Pike were laid out on the tables. Their tops were removed and antiseptic was poured over their throats. Taking a scalpel Clarke began to feel along Pikes windpipe, explaining to Nyko what she was doing and why and then sliced horizontally along the pipe.

Unfortunately, Pike’s heart had stopped and Clarke had to restart it. Eventually, she got Pike breathing and heart rate steady.

Shumway was breathing on his own once an airway had been opened and his heart never so much as stuttered. Unfortunately, Clint deteriorated in the time it took Clarke to treat Pike. She had to carry out a tracheotomy on him using the chicken bone and Bellamy breathing for him for a couple of breaths.

All three were treated for the allergic reactions.

When they were all resting as comfortably as possible, Clarke asked Nyko if he wouldn’t mind watching over the patients while she and Anya talked.

“He is worse than you said” Anya opened with. “Why did you save him?”

“Because even in death, if I can put it off for long enough, he can still be of service to my people. Thank you, I owe you.”

“No, this one was a pleasure. Sorry about the other two. Only Pike should have suffered.”

“Not your fault, it is something that I should have checked for everyone, and will have to do so when I return. What did he do or say that was that bad?” Clarke wondered how Pike had pissed Anya off so badly that she wanted him gone so much.

“First when he talked to Clint and Shumway, it was always quiet so I couldn’t hear him but I was told that he kept saying things like having to ask the bloody savages for help, as if they needed any help from the likes of us. When talking to me he talked loud and slow as if I could not hear nor understand his words. He at first refused our food, until Harper and Miller said they would love some and thanked us for our hospitality. Then Clint said, ‘yeah, thanks, it’s nice of you to feed us’ and took a little. Shumway and Pike then seemed to realise that they were being rude and Pike said ‘alright, we’ll have some of your food’ as if they were doing us the favour. A quick nod from me and the server knew to put some of the poisoned mushrooms on their plates.”

Clarke nodded, realising that Clint had a genuine allergic reaction while Shumway and Pike were actively poisoned. Still, she had said that all she would require was an explanation, so all was good as far as Clarke was concerned.

A quick radio call to Raven, Jackson and Maya informed them what had happened and plans were made to test everyone for nut and mushroom allergies. 

“I’ve already had both nuts and mushrooms so I’m fine” Raven offered, but I’ll make sure these two newbies don’t eat anything that they could be allergic to.

Clarke knew that she didn’t really need to worry about them since Jackson’s med bag contained adrenaline and epinephrine so they would be fine if they had a slight reaction to something; she only hoped that it didn’t prove necessary and that there were no more near deaths.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not sure that I like Clarke being economical with the truth but there are times when giving someone information that they cannot handle requires a little bending of truth - a bit like a parent telling a child that their lost dog has gone to a farm so that he has more room to run around. Nyko would not be able to handle the reason for Clarke keeping Pike alive, or at least she thinks he won't be able to.  
Why did no one from the original 100 suffer from nut allergies? Possibly because the one per cent person died before eating them, or just lucky. But the current batch are not going to be so lucky. As I said, I am sorry if this chapter is upsetting to people who suffer from severe allergies.


	15. Melting Down Changes Things

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clarke and Bellamy realise that they can't think of everything. Now that they're more than leading 100 people they need to start learning to ask for help.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter there is use of the acronym DC - it means Deputy Chief in this context.

Everyone was being tested for nut and mushroom allergies. There were no allergies to the mushrooms (unsurprisingly) although a few people said they didn’t like them; but there were 37 people allergic to nuts and all but two came down with the second group of people.

Clarke sat looking at the list of people allergic to nuts and snapped.

“I don’t believe this!” she screamed. “How could I have not thought about this?” and she threw the tablet at the wall as she fell to the floor and started crying: not gentle tears falling down face crying, no, it was loud screaming and sobbing crying. “Thirty-seven people could have died because I didn’t do my job! I’m supposed to save them! I can’t do this. I can’t keep losing people!” and Clarke dropped her head into her arms to hide herself away.

“Bellamy and Octavia to the med centre. Bellamy and Octavia to the med centre, immediately” came over the radio causing panic amongst those who heard wondering what else could possibly have gone wrong.

Bellamy reached the med centre first. Molly pointed to Clarke, huddled in the corner, sobbing her heart out, but no longer screaming. Octavia came in with Aurora who broke her heart at the sight of the young woman with too much weight on her teenaged shoulders.

Bellamy immediately hunkered down to Clarke and pulled her into his arms; holding her tight and rocking her as he would a young, lonely, frightened Octavia.

“Shhsh, Clarke, it’s alright. Whatever it is that has you so upset, don’t worry about it, we can sort it out. We’ll get through it, together” Bellamy unknowingly reiterated their common refrain from their previous life.

“I didn’t think to test people for nut allergies” Clarke cried. “Why didn’t I think of that? Naturally one in one hundred people are allergic to nuts and I didn’t think to test them. We could have lost so many, Bellamy. Thirty-seven of our people are allergic, Bell. We could have lost 37 people because I just didn’t think!”

“Oh, Clarke; it’s not for you to think of everything” Aurora said. “Eric Jackson didn’t think about it either. Neither did your mother and both of them are a lot more experienced than you in such matters despite you living through a previous life that I know packed a whole lot of living, and dying, into a period of less than a year. If someone had suggested that you test for nut allergies and you didn’t, that is one thing, but no one thought about it and that is not on you.”

“But look at the names and origins of them all. Look at them, this is not right” Clarke was still crying. “Something is going on and I can’t work it out!”

Octavia picked up the tablet with the list of everyone allergic to nuts and read it, trying to work out what it was exactly that had Clarke so upset. Then she saw it.

“Even though Glen and Deiter were part of the first group this time, they weren’t one of the original 100. None of the original 100 are allergic, and everyone bar Glen is from Farm Station. This is certainly strange, but I don’t think it is something that you need to be upset about Clarke” Octavia said unsympathetically. “Besides, I was looking forward to you torturing Pike by getting him to work with Trikru a lot.”

“O’s right Clarke” Bellamy said, trying to be a little more sympathetic to Clarke’s sorrow while ignoring Octavia’s wish to make Pike suffer. “It is strange, but not something you should feel such guilt over. You had no way of knowing that we could be allergic to nuts, let alone that so many would be.”

“But I did know that about one per cent of the population should be allergic and I didn’t think to test our people because none died in the previous life so I just forgot about it. But Glen was part of the original 100, he died when we landed. I admit I don’t care about Pike and Shumway, but what do you think I was doing sending them to talk to Anya, Octavia? But I could have let Glen and Dieter die, Monty’s parents, just because I didn’t think!” and Clarke started to cry again.

Hugging and rocking Clarke as she cried herself to sleep made Bellamy think. They were supposed to be co leaders and he had left much of the responsibility to lie on Clarke’s shoulders, especially since they had tripled their numbers with the additions from the ARC and Mt Weather. He had to come up with a plan to take some of the weight from Clarke, and if not take it on himself, make sure it was given to people who could handle it.

Octavia took the tablet with the test results and said that she was going to radio Jackson and the ARC to let them know. “They can make what they want of the info” she said as she left.

Continuing to hold Clarke as she slept, Bellamy looked at his mother helplessly.

“Don’t worry, Bell, I think this will help her” Aurora said. “I think she needed to break so that she would be able to accept help easier.”

“How could I let her get this bad though mom? Raven and O both think that she is my soul mate, and I think that I didn’t want her to be so much that I kept too much distance between us. Clarke’s breakdown is partly my fault” Bellamy insisted.

Aurora thought for a moment before speaking. “You know that Beppi thinks the sun rises and sets according to Clarke’s desire. He said she is the most caring and compassionate person he has ever come across and I just didn’t see it. From what Raven and Octavia said I thought she would be a bit softer in her attitude with everyone, but she kept a professional distance and I never saw her relax. I was as equally standoffish with her as I thought she was with everyone else. I did nothing to help her either.”

“I think Clarke over thinks everything. She knows that she has to make awful decisions and that doing so will hurt some of her people, some of her friends, who will hate her for it. Even though that hate is probably temporary, it will still hurt that her friends can hate her. Perhaps she thinks that keeping her distance is safeguarding herself against that future hurt.” Bellamy’s words resonated as unarguable truth.

“Well it is up to us to show her that she doesn’t need to keep her distance, help her to lighten up and share her workload. Maybe you are her soul mate, maybe you’re not, but you are definitely her friend so make sure you show her that you are her friend” Aurora ordered.

“Yes, mom” Bellamy smirked. Strong as he was, Bellamy struggled to stand while holding Clarke. He placed her on one of the med bay beds and pulled up a chair so that he could hold her hand while she slept.

Clarke was still sleeping the sleep of the mentally exhausted when Raven, Maya and Jackson returned from Polis.

“Octavia told us about the nut allergy sufferers” Jackson said. “It’s not Clarke’s fault, I should have thought of that, or even her mother should have thought of it and made a note on the tablet sent down originally suggesting that she tests everyone. But there is no way that it’s a coincidence that they practically all come from Farm Station, and it is very odd that both of Monty’s parents suffer but Monty doesn’t. I think something has been going on in the last year or two or something that means they will probably grow out of it after a while. I’ll talk to everyone who came down with me from Farm to see if they’ll confess to something. She sleeping or passed out?” he indicated Clarke.

“I think just sleeping” Bellamy said. “She’s been so stressed trying to think of all possible scenarios and have a plan set out for each that I think seeing the long list of people who could have died caused a stress induced crying jag resulting in falling asleep. She’ll waken shortly” he finished with as Clarke showed the first signs of stirring.

Jackson just nodded as he went to look over the records for Pike, Shumway and Clint. “Pike isn’t going to pull through, I don’t think, brain dead. But then I’m amazed every time I see them that Beppi and Rhodes are still alive. Perhaps Clarke will work her magic again. Nice use of a chicken bone on Clint; I’ll probably remove that tomorrow and he’ll be up and about in a day or two. Shumway will be fine, too eventually. We just need to test me and Maya, now.”

Raven looked at Bellamy in concern and said “We need to do more for her, or at least take some of the load from her.”

“Yeah, I’ve got an idea. What do you think about …” and Bellamy talked to Raven, and she agreed.

Next afternoon, Clarke looking better, lighter, than she had done for some time, and Bellamy called together a meeting of all the Departmental Chiefs and their old Advisory Board. Bellamy began the meeting.

“There’s now a lot more of us and a lot more responsibility. Clarke and I have talked and agreed that we would like to change how we organise that responsibility and we need to talk it over with you before we finalise things.”

There was some muttering between the older chiefs about how Pike was right and they needed more grown up leadership. Clarke and Bellamy looked at each other with smirks at their ignorance.

“We think that Departments with 25 or more workers should appoint a Deputy Chief to assist the Chief with the day to day running of the Department. Chiefs for whom that will apply give us a list of three that you would recommend and Clarke and I will interview them and make our selection of the three.”

“What if we have more than 50 working for us, can we have two Deputies?” Hannah Green asked, since she had over 60 working for her in the farm.

Clarke and Bellamy hoped that someone would raise that point because they wanted it to be seen that they listened to the advice of others. “That’s a good point” Bellamy conceded. “How about for every 25 workers in your Department you can have a Deputy? That way you can allocate responsibility as you see fit but you will still have overall responsibility for the long term planning of your Department, just send a list of five people you would recommend and we will select the two.” That made everyone smile.

“They will like the extra rations” Hannah said.

“What?” was asked by many. 

“There is no rationing here, we’ve made that clear” Clarke said. “Everyone gets what they need, they younger children get less, and certain physical jobs get slightly more protein, but other than that everyone should get the same.”

“Well they don’t” Hannah was emphatic.

“I’ll look into that” Bellamy promised. “First a talk with the servers, then surveillance, and, hopefully not necessary, but automated food dispensers as a last resort. Please let me know if there appears to be any sort of favouritism. We could give extra jerky to those needing the extra protein if we need to go down that route but we will not have a black market.”

“Then what’s the incentive for those taking on the extra responsibility?” Hannah asked.

“The sense of fulfilment. Responsibility is part of the workload. More responsibility, less other work. The person cleaning the canteen is equally as important as the person in charge of it so they should get the same reward. If a Department needs more workers to be able to carry out all the work then let me know and I’ll sort it. No one should be working more than 60 hours a week as a matter of course; also, no one should be working less than 40 hours a week as a matter of course.”

“Hey, I would love to work less than 60 hours a week” Murphy grunted out.

“You could if you trusted your team more” Clarke pointed out. “I’ve seen them stand around and watch you try to do it all and be brushed off when they try to help. If you want to be a chef and not the Food Prep Manager, let us know and we can make changes.”

“Actually, I just want to cook and prepare menus. I hate Management” Murphy said.

“Okay, recommendations for Food Prep Manager required. The post will entail staff management over all the cooks and canteen staff, liaison with Hannah - Farm Chief, Harper – Hunting Chief and Murphy – Head Chef. You three get together and come up with three suggestions and Clarke and I will interview and make a selection” Bellamy said. “We’ll let them think about their Deputies.”

“Now, you know that there is a problem with the radiation and with where the Arkers can settle when we come down so we have decided that Clarke will Head the team looking at those issues, the Strategy Team. She will also oversee our relationships with the Grounders and Arkers. I will oversee the day to day running of Skaikru. So basically, if anyone has any issues about day to day stuff, they report them to the appropriate DC, or Chief, and if it not sorted to everyone’s satisfaction then they report it to one of the Advisory Board who will raise the issue with me, and Clarke if getting nowhere. The same if there is an issue or point to raise on the longer term strategy except the issue should be taken to Clarke before me. Questions?”

Murphy raised his hand, a surprise since Clarke and Bellamy would expect him to just blurt it out. “This is something that some of the food prep people are talking about, but haven’t asked about directly, but they will at some point. One was asked if they would consider adopting one of the orphans and they were concerned that it would mean that they wouldn’t be able to have another child later. What is the policy on having children?”

It was clearly an issue that was of interest to a great many people since there were lots of nods of encouragement. Bellamy looked to Clarke to answer.

“There will be no population control. We will however ask that people consider the practicalities of having a baby within our current accommodations. We can certainly support some, but if every woman between 20 and 30 suddenly decided to have a baby now we would struggle because we would temporarily lose a lot of the workforce, and have to make an awful lot of cribs. I need to talk to Jackson, and look at the medical records, but I would suggest if anyone wants a baby, just wait until your implant is to be replaced and just have it removed without replacement.” Clarke looked to Jackson with a raised brow in question.

“That would be a good idea so that conception is spread over time. Unless we have somehow really skewed the balance, the implants will be due for renewal over an even spread of time. I would still suggest the genetic testing, though.”

“There we go, that is the policy, wait until the implant is due to be replaced and have it removed. I think only exceptions should be women aged 30 or over who have a while to wait for their implant to be replaced or will be aged over 30 when it is due to be replaced can apply to have it removed early. No guarantees, but I expect most to receive a positive response” Clarke added.

“Your Advisory Board” David Miller began, “can you tell us how they are chosen, and could you rename them something like Peoples’ Representatives, and make plans for eventual elections for the positions?”

This was very close to a point that Bellamy and Clarke had thought about before so Clarke was able to alert everyone to their current thinking.

“We chose them when we first landed because they were able to prove their willingness to work with and for everyone. We knew that when our numbers increased we would have to do something different, we just hadn’t gotten around to finalising plans, but basically we thought of having elections to the Board so calling them Peoples’ Representatives would be no problem. We thought we would wait until we knew for certain who would be living here as part of Skaikru, and who would be with the Arkers when they eventually came down to make a final proposal to you. We wanted to know numbers and demographics before working out the best way for everyone to feel represented. We’ll be happy to consider ideas once we’re settled and are turning our attention to that. There is one thing we’re adamant about, though. There will not be elections for new leaders unless the current ones wish to resign. We need stability and not people looking at short term popularity. I think we have shown that we will listen to the people, though.”

“I’m not saying that you’re wrong” Vincent said, “in fact I think you are correct and as long as you continue to have the interests of your people at the heart of your decisions I will continue to support you; however, some people will need more visible proof of your good leadership. A public statement about the rationing issue will help with that. Secrecy will fuel discontent. Having a public discussion and vote when big issues come up will help. Maybe publish your laws and punishments, details of your planned judiciary open it up for discussion, something like that so everyone can see that you are thinking of the best thing for them, but taking their wishes into account.”

Clarke looked to Bellamy, and on receiving a nod of agreement said “You’re right. Our first public statement will be about rationing, once Bellamy has gotten to the bottom of the current problem. Hannah, can we grow algae too? That way we could make algae bars available to all as needed as a snack. They’re not nice, but if anyone truly felt they needed more to eat than the portions available then algae would meet all the nutritional needs. We use the statement to make it clear that everyone gets the same meals unless there is a physiological reason not to do so, for example those allergic to nuts will have to have something different when nuts are being served. We also make it clear that if new clothes are needed, they can exchange their old ones for new. If new furniture is required and we can’t provide it they can receive help in making it for themselves. Re-iterate that there will be no medical rationing and publicly state the policy on population growth. As an addendum we can also remind people to let us know if they can think of anything we can do to make life better for all our people.”

“Yeah, then when we’re settled for winter we can produce the proposed judicial paper and have an open consultation meeting. It will give them something to focus on other than that they are tired of the cold and want to be out in the sunshine again” Bellamy said.

That closed the meeting and as everyone got up to leave, Clarke asked Hannah and Jackson to stay and talk about the nut problem. She thought Hannah was more likely to be honest if it was just between her and Jackson, at least to start off with. If he got nowhere with Hannah then Jackson could talk to the rest of the former Farm Station.

The day was broken by the radio as there was another emergency. It almost sent Clarke back into her crying mode. Echo had found Roan and was bringing him to Mt Orlan. He was in a bad way Clarke was told.

“You will need all your healing skills and to harness the full power of Wanheda to save him.”

With tears streaming down her face, Clarke handed the radio to Bellamy to get the details of their arrival. She then went to brief Jackson. With her hands shaking so much, Clarke knew that she would need Jackson to help bring her back so she could save her friend.  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, it's a bit short but the next few are a bit long to make up for it!
> 
> Aurora had the chance to get to know Raven in the earlier chapters when they planned for the first drop ship, but she never seemed to have the chance to get to know Clarke - living this new life got in the way. Now Aurora realises that she kept a bit of a motherly eye on her two, plus Raven who she grew attached to, but there was no one to look out for Clarke. We all need someone in our corner and Clarke was so busy being in everyone else's corner that no one noticed she needed someone in hers. That will change, I promise.


	16. Saving Roan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With Roan severely injured, potentially fatally, what can Clarke and her team do to make sure that he lives? Surprisingly, it's not just Clarke's medical expertise, or her power over death, that is needed to help him pull through.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's some acronyms that some of you might not know:  
IV - intravenous, where a needle is stuck into a person with a liquid being fed through a line direct into the blood stream;  
NoK - next of kin;  
NG - nasal gastric, a tubed fed through the nose direct into the stomach.
> 
> This is the chapter that one or two have been waiting for, the arrival of Roan, banished Crown Prince of Azgeda. I hope it is worth the wait.

A while ago, Costia talked to Lexa and secured her agreement that it was better to make sure that the banished Azgedan prince was firmly on the side of the coalition, or at least not able to work with Nia knowingly or otherwise, against it. It was from there that she was able to get the Commander to agree that Echo, accompanied by Lincoln, should seek out the Prince and perhaps rather than foist him on the coalition, see if he could work with Skaikru.

The plan did not take into account the fact that there were factions loyal to Nia, and some who hated Nia but were unable to get to her, who wanted him dead. Echo and Lincoln finally tracked him down by a river in Floukru territory. He was severely injured, and there were three dead fighters, Azgedans, close by.

Lincoln looked over the banished prince and said that although he was still breathing, he would soon die due to the poison in his arm. Echo knew that Clarke would not like that so she used the radio that had been given to her and called Mt Orlan. 

They followed the advice given by Jackson, trying to keep his arm as low as possible and limiting the blood flow to that limb as they rode to TonDC, taking the Azgedan horses with them. Naturally they didn’t waste the time on properly disposing of the warriors’ bodies.

Bellamy, with Clarke in the passenger seat, was driving the truck to a meeting point with Echo, Lincoln and Roan. The two leaders of Skaikru waited anxiously for what seemed hours, but was in fact only minutes, for Echo and Lincoln to bring the unconscious Roan to them.

Laying Roan down on the back of the truck, Clarke insisted that Lincoln and Bellamy help to strip him so she could look properly at the wounds, and to slow the blood flow due to the slight chill. The wound to his side would need treatment, but was manageable since it was not poisoned and seemed to have caused no major damage to necessary organs or arteries. The wound on his left arm was a mere scratch in comparison. But Lincoln was correct: the wound to his right arm was poisoned and Lincoln said that there was no antidote. Once it reached the heart, the victim died, in pain.

Clarke moved Roan so that his poisoned arm was hanging over the edge of the truck and sliced his wrist after checking that the tourniquet was tight enough. She then set up a transfusion with a bag of blood she brought in the other arm. Next, Clarke asked Lincoln to help her secure him so that Echo could take the horses to wherever they needed to go while Bellamy drove as fast as he could back to the mountain. Clarke had no idea that the horses were going back to the mountain too.

“How do we know how far the poison has travelled?” Clarke asked Lincoln.

“The pain is the main indicator, but you need your patient to be conscious for that, but also the blood bubbles slightly.” It didn’t seem to occur to Lincoln to ask why Clarke wanted that information.

At times it was difficult to hold Roan in position as the truck bounced over the track back to Mt Orlan, but the IV stayed in place and Roan was still alive when they got there.

As Roan was laid on the operating table he began to moan.

“Roan, Roan, can you hear me?” Clarke called as she scrubbed herself in order to help operate.

“Wanheda in person, I presume. Have you called me to my death?” Roan groaned in pain.

“No, I’m going to save you, with a bit of help from my friends” Clarke said.

“You can’t, no antidote” Roan argued.

“I am going to save your life, and you have promise that you will live it, deal?”

“The great Wanheda thinks she can command everything” Roan mumbled as the anaesthetic Jackson gave him took effect.

“What’s the plan, Clarke?” Jackson asked.

“The poison in his right arm has no antidote. Looking at it, it seems to kill the tissue it comes into contact with. Lincoln said that it makes the blood bubble slightly. We need to amputate the arm, I think just above the elbow should be safe. If we’re in doubt we can take more. After we’ve done that, we treat the wound in his side, and then stitch the wound on his left arm. When that is done, we do a couple of hourly blood draws above the amputation site to confirm no poison in his system. When we’re sure all is well, Maya can give him a bath and he can sleep for a day while I get the engineers to make a rough prosthetic arm.”

Jackson and Clarke worked well together. Contrary to what she thought earlier, when it was necessary, Clarke’s shaking hands steadied to do their job. They could see the difference in the blood and tissue where the poison had reached. They thought it would be safe to amputate just above the elbow, as Clarke thought, but decided to cut a little higher just in case. They kept an open wound on the arm so they could keep an eye out for any signs that the poison was still in the arm as well as confirmatory blood draws.

The wound in Roan’s side was more serious than first thought. A small section of his intestine had to be removed, but that was the most dangerous part of that surgery. Knowing how Roan was likely to try to get up and be active too soon for his internal wounds to heal properly, after all, he couldn’t see that his upper intestine had been stitched together and would need time for it to fully knit together; Clarke took the decision to keep him sedated. He could, and no doubt would, give Clarke grief for that but she would much rather he be alive and angry than dead.

Meanwhile, a decision needed to be taken about the horses: two stallions and one mare. After speaking with Echo and Lincoln neither of whom actually owned a horse of their own, it was agreed that they would each take one of the stallions and leave the mare with Skaikru. Lincoln had agreed to help look after the expanding Skaikru stable, with the help of Ben and Charlotte who both agreed to follow Lincoln’s instructions and learn all they could, and Octavia who seemed to have a knack for it. Echo returned to Polis and to advise the Commander on what they found. Clarke said she would notify someone as soon as there was something to report.

Four days after the surgery, Jackson inserted an NG tube into Roan so that he could be fed whilst remaining unconscious. Normally they would just feed through an IV line but they wanted to see how well his digestive tract worked. It worked very well, with no blood in the stool. The NG tube was removed and nutrients were fed to Roan through the IV.

Six days after surgery Roan started to awaken. He was very groggy, complaining that his bed was like a board and that the Queen needed to see to the comfort of her son and heir, but since she hated him he thought that was unlikely. He also complained about being captured when he was enjoying his freedom. All in all, Clarke gleaned some very interesting snippets from the dazed prince. She tried to help soothe him by repeatedly telling him who she was and where they were and the circumstances surrounding his presence.

Roan, banished prince of Azgeda could hear the voice of the mighty Wanheda as she tried to call him back to the living. It would appear that she had not surrendered him to the arms of death, but judging by the pain he was in, he might wish she had. He reluctantly opened his eyes, squinting at the brightness, only to look into the bluest eyes he had ever seen before.

“Hey, welcome back your highness” Wanheda said. “I know you’re in pain right now, but we need to check that everything is going smoothly with your recovery. Let me carry out some tests then I’ll give you a little water and you can sleep again.”

He would let her carry out her tests; he would take her water; but he would not sleep again until she answered some of his question, of that Roan was adamant.

“I need you to close your eyes while I prick you in various places to check for nerve damage. I want you to tell me every time you feel the pin prick, okay?”

Roan did as requested, letting her know when he felt the pin prick and was soon told “That was excellent. We were concerned that there might be some loss of sensation in your arm but all is well. We’ll have you up and training in no time.”

Roan was pleased with the words until he looked at his injured arm wondering how it was possible that it did not kill him. There was no hand, no arm. She had taken his arm!

“What the hell have you done to me? How can I live with only one arm? Why would you do that? Answer me, dammit!”

“I cut off your arm above the elbow before the poison could spread. You can live perfectly well with one arm and soon you will have a prosthetic arm to replace your other one which in some ways will be even better than a natural one. Same answer as previous with the addition that I wanted you to live, I believe you to be an important cog in this wheel of life so I did everything necessary to make sure you live. I am sorry that you weren’t found before this happened, but luckily it was soon enough afterwards that we were still able to save you. There, I’ve answered you. Now drink some water, small sips so you don’t vomit.”

Rather shocked into submission, Roan allowed Clarke to raise his head and did as ordered and took several small sips of water to ease the dryness of his mouth and throat. Next he was offered a mint flavoured drink and ordered to swish it around his mouth then spit it out. He did feel better afterwards, even with the pain, some of which did not make sense since he had no arm in which to be hurt.

“We will attach a very basic prosthetic as soon as I’m satisfied that the wound has healed so that you can start to get used to moving it around. When you have control over it we’ll work on designing a custom built arm that will be so good you’ll wonder how you managed without it. Since it was your right arm, you’ll have to work on improving the strength and dexterity of your left as well. All in all, you’ve got a tough winter ahead of you; but on the bright side, you won’t have to do any hunting or worrying about being ambushed, or anything like that” Clarke was determined to be optimistic.

As he thought about not being able to use his bow to hunt, tie knots to set snares, even do his own braids, Roan began to feel depressed and wished that he had not been found in time for Wanheda to command death to leave him. This world was a cruel place and it had no use for a one armed freak.

It took less than two days for Clarke to realise that Roan was feeling sorry for himself and depressed. Piecing together all the snippets of words he had said, and what she knew of the grounder culture, particularly that of Azgeda, Clarke knew that she had to force a different outlook on Roan.

“Come on, up you get, you’re coming with me” Clarke said to Roan who was otherwise just lying in his bed wondering if he would have the ability to kill himself.

“Why? Where are we going and what is the point?” Roan asked as he levered himself into a sitting position and turned so his legs were off the bed.

“Here, put these on” Clarke passed a pair of pyjama bottoms with an elasticated waist, something that she doubted he had seen before.

“Aren’t you going to help me?” Roan asked, surprised.

“No, you don’t need my help to put those on so get dressed” and Clarke stood back and folded her arms to indicate that she was not giving in.

When Roan had surprised himself with being able to put the clothes on he stood up, barely.

“Take it easy” Clarke said. “Your legs haven’t had to walk for a while so they need a little time to readjust. While waiting, put this on” and she passed a tee-shirt over. It didn’t take Roan long to don that item.

Making their way slowly, Clarke led Roan to a busy part of the bunker. Roan was shocked that he barely garnered any looks and those he did receive seemed to be more in puzzlement than pity.

“Are you going to tell me where we’re going yet?” he growled at Clarke.

“We don’t have any footwear big enough for you so we’re going to the shoe maker to get you measured for some shoes. You needed the exercise and to get out of the med bay, and I didn’t want to have to ask Philip to come to you if I didn’t have to.” Clarke knocked on a door before entering. “Hey, Philip, I brought that guy I was telling you about” Clarke said as she led Roan into the shoe maker’s room.

Roan was shocked as a man with no legs wheeled himself from behind a work table to point to stool with a contraption on it and said “left foot on there, please”. Keeping his thoughts to himself Roan did as instructed as various marks were made to measure his foot. He then had to repeat with his right foot.

“Given what you told me, I prepared these earlier, just let me make a small adjustment” Philip said as he reached for a pair of soft indoor slip on shoes. “Not for outdoors, but they’ll be fine for inside. I’ll bring something that will do for outdoors tomorrow. They won’t be perfect but they’ll do until you get used to your new hand and can do ties again. Here you go” and he handed over the pair of soft shoes to Roan with a smile.

It took an elbow from Clarke to bring Roan back to senses. He took the shoes and said “thank you” and dropped them to the floor and pushed his feet into them. “How do I pay you back?”

Philip looked at Roan in puzzlement. Roan understood, how would he ever be able to pay for them?

Clarke snorted. “You don’t. Everyone here gets everything they need. Everyone contributes with a job, as will you in due course. Today we work on getting you up and about, looking after yourself, probably won’t take you half as long as it took Philip to be independent, and when your wound is fully healed we’ll put on a prosthetic and start your training. I don’t know how good you are with your left hand, but it shouldn’t be too long before you’re back to your best, and then we’ll upgrade your prosthetic and you’ll be better than your previous best. Of course here you won’t need all the gadgets that Raven is planning on building into your new arm, but once you’re out and about out there they may come in useful. I’m fully expecting that you’ll be the most effective hunter in Spring; if you want to hunt that is.”

“That man, Philip, he has no legs” Roan found his voice when he and Clarke started to walk to where he assumed was his sick room.

“I know. He has no penis and half his intestines are gone as well. What’s your point?” Clarke wanted Roan to spell out his issues.

“How is he still alive, and more to the point why?”

“He is still alive because his son wants him to be. Philip was caught in the acid fog from this place’s previous occupants. He was up in a tree with his son standing on his shoulders so he couldn’t fall down. The fog reached his waist. We thought he wouldn’t be able to pull through but I removed his legs and Raven built him that chair and we taught him to look after himself so he could go back to being a shoemaker and Ben’s full time dad. He is in pain every moment of every day. His intestines are failing and at some point there will be nothing I or anyone else will be able to do to save him. But until he reaches that point, he and all the medical staff here are going to fight with everything we have to give him one more day with his son. So if he with all that he has lost can pull himself together to be a valuable contributory member of Skaikru, the least you can do is to stop feeling sorry for yourself and make sure that you do the same. You have so much to offer, and don’t forget people went looking for you to bring you to me, and nothing that has happened has changed what we need and want from you; if you’re willing to give. We will not, however, force you to stay with us no matter how much I want you to.”

Roan looked at the small young woman and asked “what do you want from me?” in wonder as he saw that she really did want him to stay with her and her people.

Clarke sighed. “I’m not sure if you’ll believe me when I tell you. Heck, I’m still not sure I believe it, but let’s go to my office and we can talk there.” Clarke led the way to her small office, passing the break room on the way so she could get them both a cup of coffee. She assumed Roan drank his the same as she hers; no milk, no sugar.

Sitting down on the chairs in Clarke’s office, with a strange but welcome hot drink, Roan listened and studied.

“There are lots of things going on at the moment that I think are unconnected, rather it’s just that when shit hits it comes at you from all directions, but I may be wrong and there is a connection that I am just not seeing. I don’t know how much you know about me and my people but in order to make sure I tell you everything you need to know I may say stuff you’re already aware of, but it’s better to repeat than to miss stuff out.”

Roan merely nodded his head for Clarke to carry on.

“There’s 365 of my people living here with Bellamy and me in charge. We used to live in space with 2000 more of us and had been told that there were no more people alive on earth and we had to stay in space for a further 100 years. Unfortunately the space station is running out of oxygen so unless more is made and, or, there’s a lot fewer people there to breathe it in the people up there will suffocate. The Commander has made it clear that she does not want 2000 more people living in the coalition lands so we are looking for somewhere that the rest of the space people can settle before they die of oxygen deprivation. We could not support many more than 500 here so we will be split into two people, Skaikru and Arkers. Even if they find somewhere appropriate, we do not want to join up with them for various reasons, one of them being that they would have just killed Philip once they saw his injuries despite his wish to try to stay alive for his son, another because those of us sent down to earth first were deemed expendable and that is an attitude that we cannot tolerate, that anyone is deemed expendable.

“When the bombs were set off that almost destroyed the earth nearly 100 years ago, they did not allow time for the nuclear mega reactors of the world to be safely shut down. This next point is currently confidential and it would be best if you didn’t let anyone else know, there is going to be another praimfaya when the mega reactors blow. We expect it to happen in about six months’ time, probably less since the first one has already blown. We are securing this bunker to make sure that everyone who lives here will survive. We are looking for more bunkers: we have a lead on one in Polis that will house over 1000. We have given the information to Echo who will at some point find it now she is no longer looking for you and alert the Commander. We have other leads on other bunkers but those will not house very many so are focussing on trying to find more big ones. We will not be able to breathe the outside air for a minimum of five years. This forthcoming praimfaya is more like a death wave of fire that will sweep over the whole world so even once the five years has passed, we will need to start again with growing the earth and populating with animals unless some can survive in deepest caves etcetera. That is what we are preparing for here and that is something that I am sure you would be able to help us with. We need to know what we will have to store to survive in the world when there is nothing other than what we have. We will inform the Commander when we know what bunkers we can find to utilise.

“On a separate note, we think that Queen Nia plans to break to coalition and attack both us here and Trikru. We do not expect you to side with us against your own people, but we will defend ourselves against Azgeda if they do attack us. If Azgeda attacks only us then the rest of the coalition will not interfere, but if they attack only the coalition we will not interfere except that we will rescue any of our people caught out there and that, by the way, includes Echo formerly of Azgeda and Lincoln kom Trikru spouse of Octavia of the Sky.”

Roan tiredly pondered Clarke’s words. “You are correct that Nia will, at some point, attack the coalition but only when she thinks she can win which means that she will probably try for here first so she can use the mountain’s weapons.”

“We shut down the acid fog, although we could push though some sleeping gas, but that will result in damage to the vents that we will have to repair before praimfaya hits, but I doubt very much that anyone in Azgeda would know what to do for that; and we got rid of all the automatic rifles from here as agreed in the Peace Treaty. There are some missiles that could be launched from here but, once again, I doubt that anyone from Azgeda could do it, so the only gain would be strategic.”

“Nia probably doesn’t believe that you would keep your word about the weapons and she would assume that after a bit of torture one of your people would launch the weapons for her” Roan gave Clarke another perspective.

“Well she would probably be disappointed because there’s only five people at most who could do it so the chances of saving one of the correct five are not good, and that assumes that we wouldn’t win. It would take at least 1000 to beat us, do you think Trikru would allow that many to march through their territory and does Nia have that many warriors to lose?”

“No to both those questions but you took it with just a handful of warriors so she will assume that it won’t need more than one or two hundred and she would just need to watch to learn your weak spots.”

“Unless she has access to special tools that would allow Azgeda’s scouts to watch from Azgeda territory no one can get close enough without us knowing. The only chance she has is if you or Echo plan on giving her information. I trust Echo, I want to trust you, Echo told me I could.”

“I swear that I will not assist Nia in any attack on you, or the coalition, but I will not fight for you against Azgeda” Roan said.

“Fair enough. We shake on agreements instead of slicing our hands open” and Clarke offered her hand, “but where the exchange of bodily fluids is required” she added without thinking until she saw Roan’s brow rise, and promptly blushed, “we spit on our hands before shaking” Clarke persevered.

Roan, for the first time in so long, laughed.

Clarke was talking to her mom about various issues. Abby tried to turn the conversation to more personal, family, matters but Clarke insisted that they stay professional.

“But, baby, I love you and I never expected Thelonious to float your father, or to lock you up. I just wanted him to talk to Jake, friend to friend. It’s not a crime to trust a friend, Clarke, why can’t you forgive me?” Abby persisted.

Clarke sighed and gave in. “Okay mom, I guess we do need to have this conversation. I agree it is not a crime to trust a friend and believe that you thought that Jaha would be dad’s and your friend rather than the Chancellor. That is a completely forgivable mistake and if you had explained and apologised at the time I would have forgiven you, maybe not immediately, but definitely after a short period of reflection.” Abby went to speak but Clarke pushed on not allowing Abby to get her hopes up. “However, letting me blame Wells for it and spend over a year hating him for something you did is not. Wells used to try to visit me in solitary but I always turned him away preferring to be alone than to see the one I believed was responsible for dad’s death and my sentence. You never tried to visit. That is not forgivable. Drugging me before throwing me off the ARC is not forgivable. Throwing the others off the ARC is not forgivable. Letting Jaha tell us that we are expendable is not forgivable. If you had talked to us and given us the choice of the options; that would have been welcomed. For your mistakes, you have not once apologised but expect automatic forgiveness; that is plain arrogance. I love you, mom, but I really do not like many of your choices and I very much doubt that I could ever trust you again. Now, can we get back to discussing Pike and the possibility of transplanting his intestines into Rhodes?”

Abby was clearly shocked as well as upset. ‘How could this be a surprise to her?’ Clarke thought. In order to give her mom time to pull herself together, Clarke went over all the information again. Once the discussion on the medical possibilities was concluded, Clarke added that she would need to get Philip Rhodes’ agreement and the agreement of Pike’s nominated NoK.”

“Why would you need approval from Pike’s kin? You are in charge, if you want to do it, just do it. Once sewn back up no one will know” Abby went on. “Of course if we had the resources this is the type of experiment that I would have loved to carry out, the possibilities if it works are endless. You have to see that.”

“This is one of the reasons I don’t like your choices. If we do this, it will not be as an experiment, it will be to save someone’s life. I cannot violate Pike’s body without his approval, or in its absence the approval of someone who can speak for him, it would be very wrong to do so. And before you try to say something about Rhodes, let me tell you that I would never do anything medical to him without talking to him first as long as he is able to understand. It is his body and he is the one who has to live with the consequences so he has to be the one to make the informed choices. How is all this not medical ethics 101? I’ll talk to you later about it and if it goes ahead set up cameras for you to watch. Bye” and Clarke ended the call.

“You’re right, patient consultation and agreement should be ethics 101” Eric Jackson said. “I think your mom is regretting sending me down instead of her now, but I don’t know how she would take you questioning every medical decision she would want to make.”

“I’m glad it’s this way. With mom I would actually have to question every medical decision because she is too entrenched in the ARC medical practice and would find it hard to break out of that mindset and embrace what Bellamy and I want to promote here: every life matters. I find you to be very flexible and willing to think outside the box. I know it is possible that Philip Rhodes will die, but I want us to do everything we can to put off that day for as long as he wants us to. Still, it would be highly ironic if after all this though, either Rhodes or Pike’s NoK say no.”

Jackson nodded his agreement and acceptance of the possibility. “I thought you might want to know that I told Bellamy what was happening with Farm Station, it won’t carry on here, we have no idea if it will on the ARC but they were growing something that made them feel full when eaten and it reacted with nut oil. I’ll carry out tests every three months on them to see how long it stays in their system. I also heard that the algae was working up there and the oxygen levels were actually rising. They’re planning on lining all the corridors with algae farms. It will divert some of the power, but less light and heat, more oxygen seems to be a good exchange. With fewer people there and an end in sight, they have given everyone more clothes so that they can layer up to keep warm. There’s now hope for everyone and you are a big reason for that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What special tools should I have Raven design into Roan's new arm? I have a few ideas but I think he would feel a bit overwhelmed with it all, (but not a cat in hell's chance that he would let anyone know that).
> 
> I'm still not sure about saving Rhodes. Part of me thinks that since he saved Roan, he should live, and Ben wants and needs his dad; but part of me thinks that he should have listened and followed advice. Huh, still time to make up my mind.


	17. Finding Bunkers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the title says, they find some bunkers but they come with some surprising contents, and they tell the Commander about what is to come.

“Holy shit!” Monty exclamined. “I do not believe this! How can it possibly be true? They have got to be kidding me, or am I dreaming? No one is going to believe me on this one. I’m not sure I believe it. Crap, this is so absolutely out of this world amazing! Who would have thought that it was true, that it actually existed?”

Roan, the only other person in the same room with Monty at that particular time, decided it was time to interrupt the monologue. “Are you going to let the rest of us know this amazing information or keep it to yourself in case we don’t believe it?”

“What, I, yes, Roan, of-course” Monty was as clear as mud. “I, well, I’m feeling a little overwhelmed at the moment” and Monty ignored Roan’s snort of agreement. “Do you think, would you mind, could you, I think, could you arrange for Clarke, Raven, Sinclair, Bellamy and anyone else to come here, please? I need a minute or two to gather my thoughts.”

Roan could see that Monty really did need to gather his thoughts so he used the talking machine that Clarke and Raven had given him to call them, Sinclair and Bellamy to the control room.

When all those called were there Clarke asked Monty what it was that he had found.

“Area 51” was all Monty said.

“You have got to be kidding?” from Raven.

“That place is a myth” from Bellamy.

“How?” from Clarke, a sensible question in Roan’s view.

“Look” Monty said pointing to his screen. Since Roan didn’t understand all the tech stuff he stood back and waited until someone was able to fill him in.

“Can you get a voice link?” Sinclair asked.

“Oh, yeah, sorry. Hang on” and Monty’s fingers danced over his machine when a voice could be heard.

“ … ther. Come in, please. This is Dr Schmidt of Area 51 calling Mt Weather. Come in, please.”

Clarke picked up the mic and spoke: “This is Clarke Griffin speaking to you from Mt Orlan, formerly known as Mt Weather. It is a very great pleasure to hear from you, over.” In a totally un Clarke like reaction, tears were streaming down her face.

Roan pulled Bellamy aside and quietly asked him what all the fuss was about.

“Area 51 was a secret government bunker that carried out a lot of top secret work, supposedly involving extra-terrestrial life. It was thought that the place was actually a myth made up by the conspirator theorists or fiction writers. If it is anything like myth makes it out to be then it could help a great deal in the forthcoming years. I wondered if Clarke was mad to take Monty away from farming or botany, something he is so good at, to do computer work, but this, this has the potential to be the most important find ever. I really need to trust Clarke’s instincts more” Bellamy said.

“Why don’t you? Trust Clarke’s instincts, I mean” Roan asked.

“Clarke is so very logical and uses her head so much that when she knows something that she can’t explain with logic I think she doubts herself and unconsciously I pick it up and focus on that doubt. Do you trust her?”

Roan pondered Bellamy’s question, not taking it at face value. “I trust Clarke with my life, your life and the life of everyone she wants to stay alive. I’m not sure how much I would trust her with the life of someone she would deem unimportant.”

Bellamy smirked: it wasn’t quite what he was really asking but it got close. “I think Clarke divides people into three, no, four categories: the first category is fairly small, people she deems personally important, important to her welfare and happiness and for some reason you are now in that category, I’ll let you work out the rest us; the second consists of the people she thinks are either hers, Philip Rhodes being one, or still important to the continuation of the world, for example the Commander; the fourth category is made up of a tiny number of people who Clarke would like, or thinks need to be, dead; Pike is an example; and the third category includes everyone else alive for whom she would give her life to protect but not the life of anyone in category one, and it would depend on circumstances if she would sacrifice anyone in category two. Unless the person is in category four, every life she can save, she will, at the cost of her own if necessary. Now, are you worthy of being in the first category?”

Roan’s answer was quick and to the point: “no, are you?”

Bellamy laughed, “no one is!”

Clarke radioed Echo and asked if she had found the bunker in Polis yet.

“No, well I know exactly where it is if it is here but I have yet to go in. Would it be possible for you come here for this? I do not want to trouble Heda with something if I am wrong. I do have that other item you asked me about.” On the off chance that their radio conversation was overheard Echo had to be careful about what she said: it would not do let the fact that she had prior knowledge of the bunker’s location get out.

“Okay, I do have some other news that I need to speak with the Commander about. I’ll call her to let her know. See you soon.”

After gaining the Commander’s agreement, Clarke and Raven set off for Polis. Raven was not happy about riding a horse, but she did acknowledge the benefits of blending in. It was a full day’s ride and when they reached the city limits they were knackered. Echo met them at the gate and led them to their accommodations whilst they were staying there. Echo handed over to Raven the grey back pack that Jaha used to carry everywhere with him to allow ALIE to travel with him.

“Wow, this is not what I was expecting, but I can certainly work with this. I’m not sure how valuable Becca’s island is now with Area 51, but at least we can make sure that no other schmuck can liberate her. Thanks, Echo” Raven looked reverently at the contents on the back pack until she came to the supply of the chips: then she looked angry and asked for a hammer.

Echo couldn’t immediately provide a hammer, but the use of a knife to separate the casing allowed for the breakup of the tiny circuit boards which brought a little smile of satisfaction to Raven’s eyes. They had barely put the pieces away when they were met by Octavia and Lincoln.

“Bell and mom were worried about your safety so they asked us to help protect you. We stayed behind you to watch your back. It was a slow ride though” Octavia said with a shrug. She then looked at her partner and asked “Don’t you have some friends you could visit for a while so we can engage in some girl talk?” with a sweet, innocent look on her face that fooled no one.

“Who will you be plotting against?” Lincoln asked.

“Bellamy of-course” Octavia said. “We need to either pair him up with Clarke, although I can’t see that one happening now or find someone else for him.”

“The Delfikru twins” Lincoln said after just a moment or two of thought. “I’ll leave you to organise the details” and he kissed Octavia and left.

“Who are the Delfikru twins and what makes them right for Bellamy?” Octavia asked Echo.

“Yeah, what she said” Raven said.

Echo scrunched up her face in thought. “I think he’s right, I’ve heard of them but I don’t know them. We need assistance” Echo declared. Echo stuck her head out of the door and called for a message to be sent to Costia immediately asking if she would be so kind to join Clarke, Raven and Octavia of the Sky in Echo’s apartment. Whilst waiting, Echo called for some wine. Raven muttered something about wishing they had brought some snacks to soak up the alcohol.

It wasn’t long before they were joined by the Commander as well as Costia. “What is so important that it couldn’t wait until tomorrow?” the Commander asked.

“Girl talk” Clarke replied. “You are very welcome to join us, but if you do, for this conversation you are Lexa and we are apparently planning on setting Bellamy up with the Delfikru twins, but so far no one has said anything other than they are twins from Delfikru, so us Sky girls are a little in the dark.”

The Commander didn’t know whether to look offended or pleased to be encouraged to join so lowly an endeavour. After a couple of seconds of thought, and seeing Costia sit to join the other females, Lexa shrugged her shoulders and joined them.

“The Delfikru twins are identical twins still attached together at one arm. Their mother died in childbirth and their father was urged to banish them as Freikdriena but he insisted that they grow up to do the work that their mother did. He has chosen again and now has other children so is regretting his decision. The villagers are starting to mistreat them. The women have always said that the only time they will leave is if they go in marriage to someone who will marry them both. No one from the coalition will take the freaks so they are in effect stuck. I believe that their father will offer all sorts of things as a dowry” Costia said. “Now why would you think of them for Bellamy?”

“It was Lincoln who suggested it” Octavia said. “It is possible that they could be separated, but Clarke would need to see them, that can’t be the only reason. He would also relish in having two wives, he is a bit of a horn dog, and I don’t think he would mind if they couldn’t be separated on that front. How old are they?”

“I believe they have seen 19 or 20 summers so they are not young anymore” Echo added.

“You need someone who can look after your animals, correct?” Lexa asked.

The Sky girls nodded in agreement.

“That is what they do mainly. They are also good at tanning leather, making cheese, butter and cream, and I think they might also be able to make yarn from goat’s hair. They would make excellent additions to your clan” Lexa was sure.

“Okay, it’s clear that they would be good for us, and possibly Bellamy personally, but what could we offer them?” Clarke asked.

“Acceptance and appreciation, two things they don’t have currently” Costia added. “The question is; how do we get them to you and allow nature to take its course with them?”

“I can command them to go, but how can we persuade Bellamy?” Lexa asked.

“I can work on Bellamy” Octavia smirked. He will be interested in them as soon as I say they will only marry if they marry the same man. Perhaps you could command them to stay with us over winter in the first instance as we asked for some help in learning how to look after animals in exchange for, what? What can we offer that you might want? Also, you will get the kudos of the clans thinking you were getting one over on us by lending us the freaks.”

“That is very clever, yes, I can do that. Tekheda Raven, can you look at my elevator and see if you can make it more efficient? I will tell the Ambassadors of the exchange for you to look at it, and if you can make it better then I will compensate by giving you some more animals, what would you like?” Lexa asked.

Everyone looked to Clarke to answer. “Eventually we would like to have a bee hive or two, more goats, some pigs, sheep, mares, chickens, cattle maybe, anything really would be appreciated.”

“Very well, if you Raven, look over my elevator and give me your report, I shall loan you the Delfikru twins for winter. Depending on what you are able to do to improve my elevator, I shall make a gift of some animals, agreed?” Lexa clarified.

“Agreed” everyone said.

“Now what else does ‘girl talk’ entail?” Lexa asked.

“Wanheda Clarke and Tekheda Raven, welcome again to Polis. With me is my Flamekeeper, Titus who is my trusted advisor” Lexa said as if they were likely to forget who he was after the debacle of the Peace Treaty translations. “How may I help you?”

“Commander, we very much appreciate the honour you show us by agreeing to meet with us so quickly. I regret to inform you that we come with grave news. You will recall that we said that our people believed that the earth would not yet be fit for humans to live on, we were taught it would need a further 100 years, and we thought that it was possibly an error made by our scientist. We have discovered that it was not an error. Commander, I do not know to what degree you have the knowledge of the previous Commanders, but if you are able to access the knowledge of your first Commander it would ease understanding of what we tell you” Clarke said hoping that the Commander would be able to access Becca Praimheda’s memories.

“I do not have the details of things but I do have a basic understanding of her world, please continue” Lexa said.

“When the bombs were launched that made the first praimfaya, it was so sudden that there was not sufficient time to shut down the mega nuclear reactors around the world. These reactors are exploding and causing a wave of fire to sweep across the world. It will burn everything in its path, including the seas. It has already started with the explosion of a reactor in old China. There are two reactors in coalition territory that we know are getting ready to explode. Floukru may already be starting to get sick as they eat fish that has been contaminated by swimming across the ocean and how the radiation from leakage will travel through the ocean currents. The bombs of the first praimfaya hit particular areas leaving others untouched other than by radiation fallout. This death wave will leave nothing untouched” Clarke explained.

“How do you know this? How do we know you are not making this up?” Titus asked.

“Becca Praimheda knew this would happen and has prepared a place for us to wait” Lexa said to Titus’s dismay and shock.

“If Becca Praimheda is Becca Franco then I do believe she and her friend Bill Cadogan did prepare a place. I asked Echo to search for it after we gave her all the information we were able to discover about it and she believes she has found the bunker here in Polis” Clarke said and Titus called for a guard to find Echo. “There are of-course other bunkers that could help, but even so we will not be able to save everyone. If the information is accurate, the bunker here can hold up to 1200 people, but you would need some of Skaikru to help you run it, and you would need some of the accommodation space for some animals, chickens, rabbits, goats. 

“Additionally, we have made contact with people who live in a bunker outside of the coalition who have agreed to take 1000 of your people, plus some animals, seeds, saplings etc, and we have found two smaller bunkers both of which can take 100 of your people, but no animals but would be okay with seeds and dried food, materials such as wood and leather. One is in TonDC and the other is somewhere near the border of Trikru and Azgeda and I have no idea exactly where the border is. They have all asked that priority be given to young families. The large bunker’s current inhabitants have asked if a good shoe maker could be sent to them because they are in dire need of new shoes. They all, like the mountain men, cannot leave their homes, but I shall go to them with the same treatment we gave the ten people we saved from the mountain so that the doors can be left opened until the last minute, and the people there have the chance to see the beautiful earth before its end. We believe that there is another large bunker somewhere in Sankru territory, but we have found nothing yet that warrants a search” Clarke laid it all on the Commander.

“Why are you telling me this? Why not just save all your people and leave mine to perish?” the Commander asked.

“Your people survived the previous praimfaya against all expectation; I think you deserve the chance for your people to survive the next. I want to save as many people as I can. This plan gives all my people a good chance at surviving; more will have to come down to live in the larger bunker and help run it, and since it is outside your territory they will probably settle there with any who will continue to survive in space until it is safe to return again, and over 2000 of your people will survive with the possibility of more as we find more bunkers. Although the earth will be a burnt husk, if we plan and prepare, we can survive underground until the air is safe to breathe again, both us and the people in Area 51, the large bunker, agree that it will be about five years, and we can help the earth to renew itself, give it a helping hand so it doesn’t have to start from scratch. We believe that we can do it.”

“I think we should see if this bunker is where Echo thinks it is” Lexa said in reply.

The five went to through to the Temple. Clarke immediately went up to Becca’s escape pod, ran her fingers over the letters, paying particular attention to the burnt off ‘AR’ and said “Polaris, Becca’s escape pod.” She then looked at the wall art and asked “Is that a representation of Becca’s fall to earth? Do you know who did it? Was it done at the time of her arrival or is it recent? Sorry, I’m very interested in art so I’m afraid I can be pushy at asking questions.”

“It is quite alright, Wanheda Clarke. I believe the wall painting was carried out by a follower of Becca Praimheda shortly after her death. Now, the bunker, please” Lexa pushed.

“I believe the entrance is under the altar so if everyone can help me move it” Echo went to start pushing it aside.

“Leave that alone!” Titus exclaimed. “You cannot touch sacred objects like that. You have already desecrated the Temple by your mere presence!”

“The entrance is under the altar. The altar was probably put there to protect it, so help me move it so we can look at what it protects” Echo was exasperated.

Clarke and Raven moved to help push the altar, as did Lexa. Seeing his Commander help moved Titus to also help. Underneath the altar was clearly a bunker entrance. Titus went to open it only to discover that he could not.

“Do you have the key, Echo?” Clarke asked. 

Echo went to put the key into what appeared to be the lock, but it still didn’t move. Titus snorted in derision.

“So we were right, it is a clue” Clarke said. “Do you want to do the honours?” Clarke nodded to a flame.

Echo, under the scrutiny of the Titus and Lexa, set the key alight and dropped it into a bowl to burn away the excess. When the flame had died and the key cooled sufficient to touch Echo lifted the key and slotted it into the bunker door and unlocked it. Clarke managed, just, to not smirk at Titus.

“Who wants to go first?” Clarke asked with a smile at Echo and the Commander. The Commander led the way down the stairs into the bunker. The lights came on automatically to the surprise of Echo as well as the Commander and Titus.

“Raven, do you want to do your stuff?” Clarke said as Raven looked for the command room.

On finding the place she was looking for, Raven started to press buttons to cause the screens around the room to light up. “Now, this is what I’m talking about” Raven was excited. “Let’s see what this baby has and she pressed more keys as a schematic of the bunker came up on one screen; another screen showed the list of rooms and how many people they could house the single Presidential Suite housing 2, 50 family suites each housing four, and 50 Dormitories each housing 20; another screen listed the stock of household items; another screen showed the outside temperature, radiation levels, air quality, length of time since sunrise and length of time until sunset; another screen, one that seemed to surprise Raven, showed the length of time until the apocalypse that was clearly re-calculating. The screen showed a countdown of 29 weeks, 5 days, 15 hours, 38 minutes, 54 seconds, 53, 52 etcetera. It suddenly stopped and the words ‘Re-calibrating: awaiting response from satellite AGLH 483’. Then the countdown began again, only this time the number of weeks went down from 29 to 21.

“What does that mean?” Lexa asked. “How long is a week?”

“A week is seven days. According to that countdown, and we don’t know if it is accurate, I’ll have to contact Area 51, we have just over 150 days until the death wave hits us” Raven said a little sadly. “I think you need to start organising things to go in here, dried fruit and meat, stores of leather, fur, cotton, wood, seeds etc. Can Echo and I stay here to have a better look around if you three want to talk?”

“What else should we wish to talk about now?” Lexa asked, a little shell shocked.

“I need your approval to approach Anya for permission to seek and open the bunker in TonDC and your permission to seek and open the bunker that we don’t know exactly where it is but it could be in Trikru or Azgeda territory. If there is something that you could give me to show I have your approval, provided you do give it, that I can show people to demonstrate I am there with your agreement so that there can be no misunderstanding it would be greatly appreciated” Clarke asked.

“I will ask one of the nightbleeders who carry my insignia to accompany you. No one would dare harm one of the sacred children” Lexa said.

“Commander! You can’t trust one of the sacred children to these heathens!” Titus exclaimed.

“Enough! We need to be concerned and prepared. I will brief Aiden and ask him to accompany the Skaikru on their travels. Echo, I release you from your duties to me and ask you to work for Wanheda Clarke and keep me informed of all relevant information. I understand you know how to use the distance talking machine, please speak to me on it every day. Titus, let us retire. We need to think about the best way to tell the clans this information. Please arrange for all the Ambassadors to meet in the morning. I shall go and speak with Aiden. Wanheda, please wait to leave Polis until Aiden meets you at Echo’s accommodations. I think I shall ask Octavia and Lincoln to accompany the Deflikru messenger so that they may then accompany the twins to Mt Orlan if that is acceptable. Thank you for your time and efforts.” The Commander was clearly shaken but determined to be stoic.

Clarke was surprised at how endearing she found Aiden, which in itself was a surprise because Clarke remembered that she liked him in the previous life and mourned his passing at the violent hands of Ontari.

“Wanheda Clarke, it is an honour to meet the person who took down the mountain” Aiden said to Clarke with a little bow.

“I didn’t do it alone, you know. I had help from lots of people, including Echo and especially Raven” Clarke added.

“Then it is also an honour to meet you, Tekheda Raven” Aiden said with a charming smile at Raven who seemed to immediately fall under his spell. Echo merely smirked in derision at the fallibility of the sky girls.

Octavia and Lincoln came to wave Aiden, Echo, Clarke and Raven off. They would be leaving shortly with the Delfikru messenger to collect the twins to accompany them to Mt Orlan. “Don’t forget to emphasise to them that we are very grateful to them and look forward to their company and stuff like that” Clarke emphasised.

“I know, talk to them as if they were the second coming, or whatever” Octavia said. They will know that we value their expertise and appreciate their time and effort in helping us. They are the ones doing us a very great service so anything we can do for them in exchange we will gladly do. They are to report to Zoe, but I’ll make sure Bell makes them welcome as Co Leader. Don’t worry, we got this. Now you go off and find bunkers.”

Lincoln had spent so much time with Skaikru that he was aware of the general problem but had no idea that he would be included in with Skaikru when it came to allocating spaces. Aiden merely raised a brow in surprise at the casual way it was mentioned in front of Lincoln. Clarke reassured him as they were riding away that Lincoln was very discrete and knew not to mention it outside the circle of people in the know. 

“You will find that everyone from Skaikru knows about it and not to talk to others outside the mountain about the problem. The people currently living in the bunkers know about it, too. They have been told not to talk about it in front of anyone, including us, until we say so. That precaution was put in place in case Anya accompanies us” Clarke explained.

Aiden nodded, impressed with the foresight of Wanheda.

It didn’t take long to reach TonDC and to find Anya. Anya was shocked to see Aiden and Echo accompanying Wanheda and Tekheda. She realised that there was more going on than people falling out of the sky. When she was told that there were people living in a bunker in her village she was ready to take up arms against them.

“They are nothing like the mountain men” Clarke said. “They have lived and died in that bunker and have made no attempt to leave. We have made contact with them and the purpose of this visit is to make sure we know exactly where it is and how to get in. The Commander wants the bunker to remain intact, I am sure she will tell you why shortly, but I, or my people, will need access to make sure the people inside can leave. We plan to take them back to our home, if that is acceptable.”

Anya looked to Aiden and upon the receipt of an affirmative nod said “That we never knew they were there shows they never wished us any harm. I am sure they long to breathe the fresh air of the outside. Please free them from their prison and escort them to their new home at will.”

Raven used the GPS coordinates she was given and found the entrance to the bunker buried under a pile of rubble. It didn’t take long to make a hole big enough for them all (Clarke, Raven, Echo, Aidan, Anya and her second, Tris) to squeeze down into a tunnel which led to a vault type door. Clarke raised a questioning brow to Raven ‘what now?’ it asked. Raven smirked in response and banged on the door with her fist, the booming sound echoing through the tunnel.

It took seconds for the door to open with a screech. Staring at them from the other side of a double airlock were nine middle aged to elderly people, all looking on eagerly at the first new people they were seeing, ever, some with tears running down their cheeks. The man in the middle nodded to what Clarke recognised as an intercom and she went to activate it.

“Hello, is there a way any of us can come in without putting you at risk?” Clarke asked.

A woman went to their intercom and said “we can let up to four in at a time. The people coming in will have to strip to their underwear and let their hair loose. On each side of the entrance is a decontamination chamber for an individual to enter, make sure that the blower can reach all of you, including your hair. When it is sure you are decontaminated the door to the next chamber will open and there will be some clothes that you can put on. When the four of you coming in are dressed we shall then open that door to here. So which of you will be coming through so that we can sort out appropriate clothes?”

Clarke looked at everyone in question. It was Echo who suggested that Clarke and Raven go through first and whoever finished their chamber first Aiden should follow. She, Anya and Tris could make sure no one else tried to crawl through the hole. Both Aiden and Anya nodded at that suggestion so the three left as Clarke and Raven began to strip and loosen their hair. “Just us three” Clarke said through the com when she was ready to step into one chamber.

Aiden pulled a face at the strange clothing he was asked to wear but none the less did as was asked. He met the strange new people with the handshake that Wanheda Clarke was usual for them to greet each other with, especially when meeting for the first time.

“Hello, I am Aiden and I am here to speak, and listen on behalf of our Commander. She has assured me that I may act in any way I deem appropriate in this matter. You may speak freely to, and in front of me.”

Clarke could see that the others were confused as being spoken to in such a manner by a child and stepped in “Aiden is in effect being trained to take over as Commander when the need arises. Both Aiden and the Commander acknowledge that in this matter they are woefully unprepared and are content to be guided by me until such a time as the Commander needs to take control. As long as the discussions don’t get too technical, and in which case they should be had with Raven or over the radio with Sinclair or Monty, Aiden is able to keep up; and I have no doubt that he will ask for clarification if necessary” Clarke smiled.

“I’m sorry for the apparent rudeness; we are not used to seeing young people and have rather become used to thinking of ourselves as the young ones here when our youngest is in fact in her late forties – sorry Lottie. Let me introduce everyone to you.

“My name is Lucas, I am our technical expert, which is probably not saying much. I was the one who spoke with Monty. Beatrice is, for want of a better word, our leader. We each have a vote to decide issues but Beatrice carries the casting vote in the event of a tie. Mary, my younger sister, looks after the growing of our food. Calen is our resident medic and Lottie’s father. Lottie, I’m afraid had been spoilt her whole life and does nothing except challenge us to games and things like that.”

Clarke looked at Lottie who looked shocked and disgusted by Lucas’s words and wondered if there was genuinely bad feelings between the two of them.

“Actually, I do all the laundry and cleaning of the common areas around here. My dear ex-husband thinks of that as nothing” Lottie said, clearly the bad feelings were real.

“So I think I should finish the introductions on our side” Beatrice said. “George and Elizabeth are our eldest residents, twins. Unfortunately their eye sight is not what it was but George still manages mend our rickety furniture and Elizabeth is our resident seamstress. Tobias does all the cooking around here, and he is so looking forward to using some new ingredients. Finally we have Marietta who is in charge of entertainment. You might not think that a tough job, but keeping us all from going mad is, I think, harder than it sounds.”

“It is very nice to meet you all. As you know, I am Clarke and am co-leader of Skaikru; that is people of the sky, who live in Mt Orlan, formerly Mt Weather. Raven is one of our technical experts. Aiden is one of a group of young people who were selected to live and work with the Commander, training with her so that if necessary, any one of them could take over the role of Commander, rising above their individual clan loyalties to always put the wellbeing of the coalition as a whole as their top priority. If you are all agreeable, I propose that we leave you shortly to return to Mt Orlan where I shall arrange for some bone marrow to be prepared and one of our medical staff will come back to inject you with new marrow so that the day after that you would be able to come back to our home over winter while we plan for the future. It would be helpful if you, Lucas, and Mary could return here at some point with a few of our people who could be trained to replicate your work if necessary. We’ll sort out exactly who will stay where during praimfaya closer to the time, if that is acceptable to you, Beatrice?”

Beatrice indicated her agreement. Raven asked if the schematics with all the engineering details, as well as household details could be downloaded onto a tablet that they would take to Mt Orlan so that they have a real idea of the personnel needed in each location.

Having made the first contact, Aiden, Clarke and Raven went to leave.

“What did you think, Aiden?” Clarke asked after they had said their farewells to Anya and Tris and were free to talk.

“I think Lucas introduced Beatrice as their leader but he clearly thinks it’s a role that he should occupy. If he is to remain there during praimfaya then the people from Skaikru, and the Kongeda leader will need to be strong enough to maintain their position” Aiden said.

“Yeah, I was thinking the same except I had mentally gone further and wondered if we would be able to send him down to Area 51. I think I’m going to flatter him into doing what I want. What do you think, Raven?”

“I think he is the perfect person to live with the Arkers, so yeah, let’s flatter him into going down to Area 51. How about we suggest that for logistical purposes, those planning on remaining in or around Mt Orlan stay in the two mini bunkers or Mt Orlan itself, except for the Skaikru people who will have to stay in Polis? Those planning on settling in or around Area 51 should be based there. That will cut down on the transportation of people that we’ll have to organise later.”

“Yeah, having to transport a couple of assholes is going to be a real problem” Clarke agreed. “But you’re right. There may be a good few people that will want to settle in a different place and it would make sense to place them there if we can.”

Aiden was very on edge when they arrived at Mt Orlan. That is, he was on edge until he saw how content the people were: there was no sense of the mountain being a place of death and fear any longer. The mainly younger people were going about their duties, or enjoying their break, presumably a sanctioned break since there appeared to be no animosity towards those who were not actively labouring. Clarke, Raven, and even Echo, were greeted with open friendliness, while he was greeted with nothing more sinister than puzzlement.

Aiden eagerly looked around as the group walked through the steel corridors through to the room that Clarke called ‘the control room’.

“Hey, Monty, this is Aiden who is acting as Commander Lexa’s second with regard to the current problem” Clarke said. “I suppose he is her eyes and ears so please speak honestly and answer any questions that Aiden has. Aiden, Monty is the one who is ploughing through all the old records to find bunkers that will withstand praimfaya and keep us safe. He found Area 51, where 1,000 of your people will be able live which led to the finding of the two smaller ones where 100 will be able to stay at each one. Monty is still looking, hoping to strike gold again. He does have a line on another bunker somewhere in Sankru, but nothing more definitive yet unless you have news, Monty?”

“There definitely was a bunker for the former United Nations in New York, but the city was heavily bombed, which is why the whole area is fairly dead, so we don’t know what damage the bunker would have sustained. And even if it is still intact, we don’t know if anyone made it there in time and there are more survivors since there has been no contact. Area 51 is targeting their communication satellite to try to pick up a signal. I’m taking a break from looking for that specific one and trying to find others in other countries since using the shuttle would make them accessible as long as we could get to them before the wave hits them. Olga in Area 51 will contact me if she gets any pings from the area around the old New York.”

“Do you want to stay and talk to Monty for a while or tag along with me while I do some boring housekeeping stuff?” Clarke asked Aiden.

Aiden chose to stay and chat to Monty, asking questions about how he knows what to look for and, to be honest, not really understanding the answers. He later told Clarke as much and was most relieved when she snorted and admitted that she hadn’t a clue how any of the tech heads did their stuff.

“Which I suppose is fair since they wouldn’t have clue on how to remove an appendix safely while I do. It is impossible for anyone to be good at everything, or at least I think it is, so one of the keys to effective leadership is knowing who is good at what and making sure the right people are doing the right jobs. We work differently to you, but how effective would it be to have a great sword maker being an average cook, the best horse trainer being an average hunter? One of the problems that the Arkers have is that a persons’ job is determined by the job of their parents. Monty was Farm Station, his parents are farmers. If he had stayed on the ARC then guess what he would have been. He is our best computer hacker so we need him working with computers.”

“What about your parents?” Aiden asked.

“My dad was the best Engineer, Sinclair’s boss. My mom is Chief Medical Officer so I would have been accepted for either, I chose medical. I did however, want to study art, but that is not useful so I had to keep art as a hobby only.”

Aiden didn’t like to say, but he also thought that art was for recreation only.

In the med bay, Clarke reacted angrily to seeing Atom donating marrow again.

“I know, but it doesn’t hurt that bad and I hate working with Clint so this way I miss that rotation. He keeps going on about how we shouldn’t be housing so many outsiders and that we should keep all the bunkers for ourselves since we’re the ones who discovered them and to be honest, sometimes I just want to punch him in the face. Donate bone marrow or work with Clint? It’s a no brainer” Atom said.

Clarke thought that Clint would prove to be a problem if he couldn’t work with outsiders so he may need to be repatriated to Area 51 as well as Lucas.

Maya and David Miller (to present a more mature face) were going to the bunker in Ton DC to carry out the marrow transplants. They would take one of the rovers and carry out two return trips to transport everyone to Mt Orlan. It wouldn’t be the most comfortable of journeys, but it would give them all the opportunity to look around at the earth that they had never seen before.

Aiden, Clarke, Echo, Monty and Nate Miller took a rover and two horses to look for the other bunker. Aiden was there for liaison with any coalition people they might come across while Echo and Nate were there for security. Clarke was driving with Monty navigating with Nate sitting in the back making sure to look around; Aiden and Echo were riding the horses. Aiden called for a sudden halt.

“Echo is unable to travel further with us. This is the border with Azgeda and Echo is not permitted to enter Azgedan lands” Aiden said. “Echo can wait in the tree line with the horses and I shall join you in Rover.”

Clarke managed to stop herself from smiling at Aiden’s appellation of the rover.

“We’re only going to that small group of buildings over there” Monty said pointing to the outline of what looked like a small village.

“Never the less, it is in Azgeda land and Echo may not enter. If she were seen and recognised it would not end well for Echo” Aiden was emphatic.

Clarke could do nothing but indicate to Aiden to enter the rover and make sure that Echo had the radio.

Only three people awaited them in the former Camp David bunker: two elderly people, Edward and Isabella, and Isabella’s daughter, Alicia.

“We’ve already downloaded everything and linked up the computers to the tablet so we can see what the external cameras see” Alicia said as Clarke injected her with the bone marrow. They knew that they would have to wait a minimum of three hours before leaving. It was after two and a half hours that Edward alerted them to a potential problem.

Clarke called Miller on the radio. “Nate, potential for trouble coming up from NNE, can you see?”

Miller looked through the rifle scope and could just about make out half a dozen or so riders racing towards him. “Yeah, orders?”

“Get the rover turned around and the engine running ready to leave. Alicia, Edward and Isabella are donning radiation suits and Aiden and Monty are running out with their bags now. I’m going to call Echo and tell her to ride the horses back home the long way. Be ready to get the hell out of dodge and drive straight back home, fast.”

Clarke called and gave the information to Echo, helped Monty and Aiden with the loading, and then helped Edward and Isabella climb into the rover. Aiden, Clarke and Monty made sure that the bunker was secure and dived into the rear of the rover and pulled the door closed as Miller pulled away.

“I take it those people are not friendlies, then” Alicia said.

“They may have been, but we didn’t want to risk your safety if they’re not since it looks like there are more of them than we could fight off without incurring loss or injuries” Clarke said. If there’s trouble as a result of this, the cover story is that a couple of our people were reported lost in this general area and since we don’t know where the boundary is, the Commander allowed Aiden to accompany us to make sure we did nothing untoward. We are rushing away because one of our missing people is severely injured.”

“They’re trying to follow us, but they won’t be able to keep up” Monty reassured. “You’ll soon be meeting your friends from the White House bunker.”

“Yeah, I think we’ll get you sorted in your accommodations then we’ll leave the strategy until tomorrow if that’s okay with everyone?” Clarke asked.

Not only was that okay, everyone, but particularly Edward, Isabella and Alicia welcomed the brief respite, the chance to just take in the fact that they were now free.

Of-course Queen Nia didn’t want to give them the break from planning, did she? After a couple of days of hard riding by one of her messengers Nia thought she had the perfect excuse to attack.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anyone surprised, or disappointed with my choice of OFCs as potential mates for Bellamy? Clarke's reasoning behind her thinking that Bellarke is not on comes out later.  
No additional tags yet since the OFCs are not there yet.


	18. Azgeda Attacks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the title says Azgeda attacks, but is it mt Orlan or Polis?
> 
> Clarke and Roan begin to get a little closer (two snails would move quicker). Clarke and Anya begin to get a little closer (there could be fireworks with those two, couldn't there?)
> 
> Shumway is offered the chance to be a hero.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No major character deaths, I promise. Depends on how I feel, but we might have some more minor characters dying.

After a very disturbing radio call with the Commander, the potential repercussions discussed at length with Bellamy and Sinclair, Clarke went to find both Echo and Roan since they, too, were affected by what was happening, or rather what the Commander and Clarke thought was happening. The two were training. 

Echo was helping Roan to train with his left hand holding his sword but using his metal right arm as a shield. Clarke was very impressed with how much Roan had progressed, not only with his physical improvements, but also with his mind set. Roan had decided to live and to fight again. As soon as it looked like it would be safe to interrupt, Clarke made her presence known (although she suspected they were both aware the second she entered the room).

“Come to join the fight, Wanheda?” Roan smirked.

“No, it wouldn’t do anything for my pride to be so roundly trounced by either of you. I’m afraid that none of the weapons we have available at the moment are right for me. The smith in TonDC is making me two, one of which will be for training only, and when they’re ready I’ll train with you” Clarke offered. “I came to talk to you both about some news that the Commander relayed. There was supposed to be a meeting of all the ambassadors this morning but the Azgedan did not appear. When he was searched for, none of the Azgedan delegation could be found. Trikru scouts report that there is an increase in the numbers of Azgedans near the border. The Commander believes that this is the prelude to war.”

Roan and Echo looked at each other and sighed.

“You need to check your defences” Roan said. “I maintain that Nia will try here first.”

“Bellamy is on that. What do you two want to do?” Clarke asked.

“I pledged my loyalty to you above all else, Wanheda Clarke; I stand by that” Echo said.

“I will not ask you to fight your own people” Clarke assured Echo, if any reassurance was needed. “Roan?”

“I will not fight against my own people unless they attack me first” Roan repeated what he said previously; “but neither will I assist in any attack against you.”

Clarke nodded her acceptance. “In that case, if we are attacked we are going to gas the attackers and put them to sleep, Sinclair is working on repairing the gas vents now. The Commander knows this and has agreed that we do it only for the release of the sleeping gas. If either of you think that any of Nia’s army would be loyal to you rather than her, let us know so that they can be separated from the others. I am going to meet with Anya to provide her with three masks that will prevent the wearer from being affected by the gas and apologise in advance if any of her people are affected. We will still have some masks here that would allow us to go out in the gas to secure the people who tried to attack. In the unlikely event that it doesn’t work and we are beaten, would you two want to be made to look like our prisoners so you would have no problems with reintegrating with your people?”

“It matters not” Roan said. “I am now a freakdreina and would be killed regardless and Echo is a traitor who would be tortured and killed as a traitor.”

“Okay, then the gas plan had better work, hadn’t it” Clarke smirked to hide her worry.

“Clarke” Roan called, sounding very worried. “Have you heard about any of the plans for my new arm?”

“No, only that it should have a hidden knife. Why?”

“Because it seems to be growing to include a blade along the width of the forearm and poisoned spikes on the hand” Roan sounded incredulous.

“The blade along the forearm sounds like a good idea; and the poisoned spikes in the hand sound interesting, as long as you could make sure that the spikes, and the poison, were only released when you wanted them to be. I didn’t know Raven had it in her to be so blood thirsty” Clarke said.

“It seems it is a joint effort between Octavia and Jasper with Raven encouraging them” Roan bemoaned. “I thought you were a peaceful people.”

Clarke smiled as she thought about her people thinking of bloodthirsty weapons that she was sure they meant only as intellectual exercises rather than be for actual use. “Why not wait until you are ready to start planning your new arm, which will be sooner than I estimated with your current progress, and sit down with Raven to talk through the options asking all the questions that have you so worried? If you can think of something that you think might be useful, make you feel safer or stronger, suggest it. It’s your arm, make sure it’s how you want it not how Raven or anyone else wants” Clarke offered the sage advice.

Clarke was talking with Anya about the potential threat from Azgeda. Clarke said that if they were attacked they would use sleeping gas to knock them out. “We don’t know how far the gas will travel so it is possible that some of your near villages will be affected” Clarke warned. “I promise that it will only make them sleep. Whilst the Azgedans are sleeping we will strip them of their weapons and secure them. Roan and Echo will help us to separate out any who might not be loyal Nia and we will try to find out the purpose of the attack. When we have information we will contact you and the Commander to discuss what is to be done with the rest of the prisoners. We will involve you because they will have marched through your lands and we don’t know how you will feel about that. I imagine that we will want to hand over the prisoners to you or the Commander, but that will depend on what we learn from the ones we will keep. Here” and Clarke handed over three gas masks, “if you wear one of these” Clarke showed Anya how to put on and safely secure the mask, “you will not be affected by the gas. I remember that the sleep gas is red, so if you see red gas you know what to do.”

Anya clearly didn’t like wearing the mask, and who could blame her? She did, however, appreciate knowing that she and two others could walk among the sleeping Azgedans and slit their throats if the Commander so sanctioned for daring to march an army through her lands. Anya also realised that if her people were made to sleep she could have a little fun with that, but only if there was time from the more serious business of killing.

Clarke was on her way back to the mountain when she was radioed with news that there was about 200 Azgedans marching towards Mt Orlan. Clarke ordered that everyone be called into the mountain. She also asked if it was possible to link to a satellite to search for other warrior movements, perhaps towards Polis because she was sure that so few warriors could only be a diversion from what would be the main offensive.

Clarke’s next call was to the Commander. “I will call again if we are able to spot more warrior movement towards you, Commander” Clarke offered.

Next call was to Anya. Anya, who was totally pissed that the Azgedan scum would dare to march through Trikru lands, asked if she might wait at Mt Orlan with Clarke. Clarke agreed and turned back to collect her.

Octavia was not so happy that she and Lincoln (and the two delightful, and perfect for Bellamy, twins) would miss all the fun, but she agreed that they would travel the long way back home so that they didn’t get caught up accidently in any skirmish.

Clarke, Bellamy, Roan, Echo, Anya and Monty who was controlling the cameras were all in the control room watching the Azgendan army march towards Mt Orlan. Once Anya saw that they had definitely entered into Trikru territory she nodded her approval to Clarke. They would have four to five hours before they would reach the mountain unless they camped somewhere in order to attack once rested.

Leaving one camera on wide angle to watch the army, Monty focussed on looking for other potential troop movements. He found three, much larger groups, clearly stationary, close to the border with Trikru, but not yet over it. “What are you waiting for, Nia?” Anya asked herself in Trig.

“For the news of the successful attack here before this one” and Roan pointed to the group closest to Polis, “no doubt with Nia and Ontari at front and centre, will march into Polis to challenge the Commander. Nia will challenge the Commander to Solo gonplei but will nominate Ontari to fight. I have no doubt that Ontari’s weapons will be coated in poison. Ontari is a nightblood and thus will become Commander. Even if Titus insists on the conclave, Ontari will kill all the other contenders, probably in their sleep, maybe even before the challenge to the Commander. You might want to suggest to the Commander that she moves her nightbloods somewhere safe for the time being.”

Anya thought for a moment and agreed. She contacted the Commander and suggested that Aiden leads the night blood children, temporarily until Ontari is taken care of, to the bunker in TonDC. It was agreed that Tris would also stay for a while with Lottie and Marrietta, both of whom were very glad to be of use, and would do their best to instruct the night bloods on everything about the bunker. Nate took a gas mask, just in case, and drove Lottie and Marrietta with Anya to TonDC so that she could brief Tris. He was back with Anya with a couple of hours to spare.

The small army arrived and stretched out around the mountain searching for a way in. Clarke took the mic and nodded to Monty to open the channel. “This is Wanheda Clarke of Mt Orlan. Please leave this area. If you have legitimate, peaceful reasons for being here, please fall back to the tree line and have three, unarmed walk towards the main door where you will be greeted. If you fail to comply it will be deemed an act of war and we will take all measures to defend ourselves. I repeat” and Clarke spoke her message again.

The Azgendan warriors were unaware that they could be seen in detail on the monitors and it was clear that they had no intention of pulling back. They started to get excited when they realised that they could reach the main door and started to try to break it down using a large battering ram.

Clarke tried one more time “This is Wanheda Clarke of Mt Orlan. This is your final warning. Leave this area immediately. If you do not pull back we will take measures to defend ourselves.”

The response was to try harder to break down the door. Clarke called up Sinclair and told him to release the gas. 

It was Echo who spotted the lone horseman on the edge of the treeline who tried to get away when the gas was released. “The messenger” Echo said. The gas reached the horseman and both fell. Clarke wasn’t worried about the rider, but she was concerned about the horse.

“I do hope the horse is okay and didn’t hurt its self when it fell” she said to much amusement from the others.

Anya spoke to the Commander and told her what had happened. They agreed that those who Roan and Echo trusted could remain at the mountain, but the others would be marched by Anya to Polis for their punishment. Anya was most disappointed that she didn’t get to kill anyone. Skaikru could keep any weapons found, and the horse - provided it did not hurt its self when it fell. The latter point was emphasised for Clarke’s benefit.

Donning their gas masks they went outside to secure all the warriors. Anya was impressed that the door didn’t so much as have a dent despite the heavy baton used to try to break in.  
Those who Roan and Echo deemed loyal to him rather than Nia, merely 15 out of 200, (well 201 counting the mounted messenger) were secured in a separate room to the others. Echo and Anya were impressed with the cache of weapons seized, at least two per warrior, and suggested that some could be used to trade. Clarke thought that since they intended their people to move away from guns to the traditional weapons they would need to have different ones for them to choose from and so they would keep most of them.

The horse, a stallion, was woozy but seemed unharmed and happy to be led though to the former harvest chamber where the other animals were safe.

Harper and one of her team of hunters each took a mask to search for sleepy animals that may have been too close to the mountain. They found three deer. Knowing what was to come she decided to lead them to the indoor animal farm so that they would be safe from priamfaya. They were not as happy as the horses, but then the deer had never been anything other than free. Zoe said she would keep an eye on them. They also found some squirrels, rabbits and birds. The birds were left but the rabbits and squirrels were quickly killed and prepared for the kitchen. They needed the extra meat since they had an extra 200 people to feed!

Roan and Echo were with the secured warriors who they believed would be loyal to Roan rather than Nia. They knew, but Clarke did not, that if they were wrong, the warriors would have to be killed. They could not risk them going to Nia with information about Roan and Echo’s location, or anything else they could pick up. They gained the confirmation that Nia would be marching into Polis to challenge the Commander. Ontari was going to fight and the Queen was sure that Ontari would win since she had been trained for it her whole life. Both Roan and Echo knew how vicious Ontari could be: she thought nothing about cheating and had no honour when it came to winning.

Clarke, Bellamy and Anya were in the holding room for the 186 other prisoners as they began to stir. Anya looked forward to some fun. Clarke and Bellamy just looked forward to getting rid of them.

The only thing that the warriors were prepared to say was that Skaikru were rats from the sky that should be exterminated, as should the Trikru scum who befriended the rats. Anya got the pleasure of a few hits, but not enough to temper her anger.

“Do you lot want some food?” Clarke asked. “I only ask because I don’t want the cooks to prepare food that you’re going to waste, but since you’ll have a long walk to Polis tomorrow I thought you might prefer to do that on a full stomach.”

One or two clearly wanted to tell Clarke what to do with her food but the leader pointed out that they should be well fed and rested for the victorious march into Polis. They were served squirrel pizza and fries, no cutlery required, offered to each individual on a napkin so no plates either, and a drink of water in a paper cup. The toileting was a bit more difficult to achieve, but Anya got in some kicks there, more mental than physical much to her disappointment, but it was better than nothing.

The conversation with the White House bunker went well. The nightbloods seem to regard it as a bit of a holiday from Polis and the very strict Titus. Lottie and Marrietta were a lot more laid back about imparting information than Titus was and since it was new information, they were eager to learn and ask questions. Both Lottie and Marrietta enjoyed being with so many young enquiring minds.

Monty was able to spot movement of the largest group from Azgeda heading towards Polis. The other two groups remained stationary. The Commander was warned. Lexa said that there were orphaned children currently sleeping in the rooms of the nightblood children. Her people were told to protect those children as they would the nightbloods, but if what Roan feared did come to pass, then the children and their guards would meet their end that night.

First thing the next morning, Lexa called with the news that the children and guards were all dead. She was grateful to Roan for the warning so that the sacred children would be saved should she fail to defeat Ontari. 

Clarke thought about what would be the best thing she could do. Because she firmly believed that Lexa was important enough for the future she needed to be able to do all that was necessary should Ontari manage to cheat despite the warning that had been passed along. Calling out a list of instructions, Clarke moved quickly to sort through the weapons seized. She found the one that was a good fit for her, but not perfect. She then went to Guard Shumway.

“Are you up to risking your life in the defence of our people?” she asked him.

“What do you mean? Are those savages threatening us?” Shumway asked.

Clarke sighed. “I don’t know who you mean by ‘those savages’ but you know that a contingent from Azgeda, that is the Ice Nation attacked us last night and that they are all secured. Anya, the leader of our neighbours the Trikru, will lead them to the Commander who will determine their punishment. You are aware that none of our people were hurt and we have seized all their weapons. No, this is a bit of a ‘in your face’ moment. The Queen of the Ice Nation is marching on to Polis, we believe to try to take power from the Commander. She has killed all the children who were training to be possible future commanders when the current one died. Since the Queen does not know that her attack on the mountain was defeated, I thought we should, or at least I should, go to let her know. I’m offering you the chance to come with me knowing that there may be some risk of attack from the Ice Nation. However, if you refer to our friends, allies and neighbours as savages then you will be charged with Treason, clear?”

Shumway thought hard. He did want the chance to get in the face of the Ice Queen who had dared to attack, but he didn’t want to have to fight with a sword since he couldn’t get the hang of it.

“Can I take my gun?” he asked more in hope than expectation.

“No, but you can take a shock baton” Clarke offered.

Hoping that he might have the opportunity to at least shock one of the locals he agreed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I clearly felt good because we didn't even have minor characters dying (unless you count the squirrels and rabbits). I really don't think the next chapter will go so well.


	19. Polis or Bust

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clarke, Raven, Anya and Shumway drive hell for leather to Polis to be on hand to save the Commander, if necessary, and to confront Queen Nia.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope that ReadlikeHermione approves of what happens to Aiden and his cohorts. At least it's better for them than canon.
> 
> WARNING, PARTS OF THIS CHAPTER, TOWARDS THE END ARE A LITTLE BLOODTHIRSTY. IF YOU THINK THAT WILL UPSET YOU MISS THE PARAGRAPHS SANDWICHED BETWEEN TWO SECTIONS OF ********
> 
> Another warning, but slightly more light hearted, Clarke takes on the persona of an old fashioned misogynistic view of a ditzy blonde - she's only acting, promise.

WARNING: PARTS OF THIS CHAPTER TOWARDS THE END ARE A LITTLE BLOODTHIRSTY. IF YOU THINK THAT THIS WILL UPSET YOU, SKIP THE PARAGRAPHS SANDWICHED BETWEEN TWO SECTIONS OF ********

Clarke knew the way and so she was the one driving. Raven knew how Clarke knew, but luckily Shumway didn’t think to ask how she knew where they were going. What he did know was that he didn’t like being driven around at such speeds along such bad roads. In that respect he was exactly like Anya who was also sat in the back glaring at Shumway.

Raven kept in touch with Mt Orlan by radio whilst they were travelling. In the light of the potential challenge to the Commander, the prisoners would wait at Mt Orlan until such a time as Lexa was able to pronounce judgement. If all went well it would only delay their departure by a day or two.

The Commander kept her radio open when she went to attend to the Ambassadors. Monty relayed to the travellers what he was able to pick up from Polis with the aid of Roan to translate. No one was any the wiser about what had happened with the Azgedan ambassador and his staff. The other ambassadors were able to relay the information they had about when their own leaders would be able to reach Polis in time for the important summit that the Commander called. Once again Titus made his displeasure known at the fact that the Commander had ordered the presence of Luna. Clarke wondered how Luna’s presence would affect Nia and Ontari’s plans.

Just as Lexa was beginning to tell the ambassadors of the attack on the night blood children, the door to the throne room was opened with a bang loud enough to travel through the radios. Anya directed Clarke to drive and hide the rover near to a small, usually unused, entrance to the city. The four hurried through the streets as they listened in to what was going on.

Nia was telling the ambassadors that Skaikru had invaded their lands and so she retaliated by sending a small contingent to teach them a lesson they won’t forget. The Commander asked what proof Nia had that Skaikru had done such a thing because the last she heard, two of their people had gotten lost and Skaikru sought assistance in looking for them. In order help their allies find their missing members, Aiden had helped the kru with their search. He did report that the missing kru had been found just inside the Azgeda border but since the border was not marked they had no idea that they had crossed it. Lexa pointed out that if the Azgedan ambassador had not disappeared then he would have received their apology for the brief incursion.

“So you take the word of the sky rats over mine, do you? This just goes to show that you are not the Commander of the coalition, but only of your friends. I challenge you to solo gonplei for the Command of the kongeda. My second, Ontari will fight for me.”

Lexa said “I accept your challenge, but don’t you find it interesting that I sent Aiden, one of the sacred nightbleeders with Skaikru and it is his word that I had?”

“And where is this Aiden so that I may question him myself?” Nia clearly thought that the attempt at killing the nightbloods was successful.

“He is not here at the moment but that is beside the point of your challenge to me. Mid-day tomorrow at the arena” Lexa avoided the issue of the night bloods, just as we were entering the throne room.

“Commander, I do most sincerely beg your pardon for interrupting what is clearly a very important meeting if the Queen of Azgeda is here” Clarke piled on the brown. “Your Majesty, I trust you received our apologies for the slight incursion into your lands by two of our scouts and the team who retrieved them. However, Commander, I came post haste to inform you of some news and if I may, I shall pass it on at your earliest convenience.”

Lexa clearly knew exactly what Clarke was doing. “Wanheda, I welcome you to Polis. You are just in time to witness one of our oldest traditions. Queen Nia has challenged me to solo gonplei. That is a fight to the death for my position. I know how you value life, and would find this a little, dear me, what is the word I am looking for?”

“Actually, Commander, the word that springs to my mind is silly” Clarke said. “Of course I do not know what led to the issue of a challenge, but for it to be a fight to the death is a waste of at least one probably very good fighter. However, it is not my place to criticise when the traditions of the people on the ARC are far from humane so I’ll say no more about it, but wonder if I might be allowed to ask questions without giving any offense, because I promise, none is intended?”

“Since we wish to get to know each other better, you may ask your questions” the Commander generously offered. “But since you are in part the reason for the challenge, would you mind joining us so that I may ask you some questions?”

Clarke affected surprise and immediately went to sit in the seat that seemed to magically appear at the end of the semi-circle of ambassadors. Shumway went to stand behind Clarke as the other guards stood behind their ambassador.

“Firstly, Wanheda, how is your scout? I trust he was not too seriously injured and you had no need to call on your powers once again” Lexa said.

“Thank you for your concern, Commander. Atom turned out to merely suffer from a simple broken leg that will heal perfectly well in time and both he and Sterling were a little hypothermic hence the apparent seriousness of their conditions to those without medical knowledge. Aiden was most helpful, and, I have to say, very charming to all those with whom he interacted. If only my people were as grown up then Atom and Sterling would not have thought about climbing over those ruins without making sure that they were safe. Still, it is something new to them and one hopes that more familiarity with the ground will allow them to be more mature with how they interact with it” Clarke waffled.

“I am glad that it was nothing serious. What has Tekheda decided about my elevator?” The Commander clearly wanted to drag the discussion out and Clarke could see that some of the Azgedans were getting pissed about it.

“Raven has come up with a plan that will allow the original elevator car to be operated by your people. She could not come up with a way to make it fully automated quickly since it would need an external power source that we do not have, nor the tech to install one for you at the moment. But the upgrade will allow more people to use the elevator and for the ride to be smoother and safer. We will, naturally, leave it to your judgement as to whether such a small improvement is worthy of more than the assistance of the two women from Delifkru who will be teaching us how to look after our animals, something that you know we regard as almost priceless. Commander, I beg your indulgence, but how did we, Skaikru become part of the reason for your challenge?” Clarke decided it was time to get to the point because she could feel the hate and anger coming at her from the Azgedans.

“It seems that Nia has taken exception to your small incursion into Azgendan lands and deems it at attack. When I said that it was not she said it demonstrated that I looked more to you than the coalition” the Commander was phlegmatic.

“How could it possibly have been deemed an attack? We were barely over the border. In fact we could see the border from the location that we picked up our people. Aiden said that because it was so close to the border that there were no settlements for miles so who would we be attacking?” Clarke acted puzzled and innocent.

“You were seen very close to one of our villages but were luckily chased away by some of my warriors” Nia stated. “If Aiden thinks that you were within sight of the border, bring him in so that we can clear this up” she demanded.

“I have already told you, Nia, that Aiden isn’t here at the moment” the Commander sounded long suffering.

“Of-course he’s not. He, like the rest of his comrades, is dead. Killed in his sleep because you don’t have the strength to look after your so called sacred children” Nia proclaimed.

“Are you admitting that you ordered the killing of the nightbleeders?” the Commander demanded softly, deadly as the ambassadors all reacted in anger to the news.

“I have my own nightbleeder and when she defeats you tomorrow she will be the undisputed Commander of the coalition” Nia declared to the cheers of the few Azgendans there and the smug smile of Ontari.

“What does nightblood have to do with the alleged death of the sacred children and being the Commander?” Clarke asked all ignorance and innocence.

When the Commander explained that only nightbleeders were able to become the Commander Clarke interrupted.

“Oh, does that mean that I could?” and she pierced her finger tip to show the blackness of her blood.

At that Ontari went wild. She lunged for Clarke with her knife but was shocked by Shumway who felt very pleased with himself as he saw her seizing on the floor: proud of himself until he felt the sting of the knife wound in his shoulder. “Dammit the bitch got me!” he exclaimed.

“Shumway, let me look at that, see if it needs stitches” Clarke said as she went to remove Shumway’s coat. Giving a quick look at Ontari, Clarke added “Don’t worry, she’ll be fine in a little while; someone just hold her head so she doesn’t bang it too much. This looks like a fairly shallow cut, a few stitches and you’ll be as right as rain. You’ll just have a battle scar and a story of heroism to show off when we get back” Clarke tried to smile because she knew it wouldn’t happen that way: the wound was poisoned and she didn’t have any blood that she could give to Shumway.

“Don’t bother” Nia said as Clarke grabbed her bag to look for morphine; “the blade is coated in poison. He will die as will the Commander and although Ontari was a little rash, you cannot be Commander since you are not part of the coalition.”

Clarke ignored everyone else except for Shumway. She trusted that the Commander, and Anya, would have her back. Clarke injected a larger than usual dose of morphine into Shumway’s arm and started to talk to him. “I’ll tell everyone that you were a hero today” and she leaned forward to whisper in his ear for only Shumway to hear “Don’t worry, one way or another she will die tomorrow” and spoke up again “but only a coward would use poison in such a way. You’d best make sure all the weapons are checked before your fight tomorrow, Commander. When you see my dad, tell him hello and that you saved my life: he’ll love you forever for that.”

“He’ll be so proud of you, Griffin” Shumway said and as the morphine started to take effect he began to hum to himself.

Clarke recognised the tune and started to quietly sing along “ … we’ll meet again some sunny day. Keep smiling through, Just like you always do, ‘Till blue skies drive the dark clouds far away. So will you please say hello to the folks that I know, Tell them I won’t be long …”

When Clarke finished the song, Shumway whispered “hate to tell you this, Griffin, but you’re tone deaf.”

Clarke laughed and said “Yeah, I take after my dad like that, but don’t tell him when you see him: he likes to think he’s a bit of a crooner, y’know?”

At that Shumway smiled as he was remembering something and breathed his last “yeah, know.”

Clarke took a deep breath and donned her leadership mantle. “Guardsman Shumway died today to save my life. We will take him back to Mt Orlan to bury him with full honours. Raven, would you say that Guardsman Shumway suffered for about 15 minutes?”

“Yeah, about that” Raven agreed knowing that there was a reason for that number being picked.

“In that case, in order to make recompense for the unwarranted attack on Mt Orlan, and for the suffering of Guardsman Shumway we will keep 15 of your warriors for a period of two years. One year for each wrongdoing” Clarke said to Nia. “The rest of your warriors will be brought to the Commander for her to administer any justice she deems appropriate for the march through coalition lands and the danger this attack put the coalition in.”

“What do you mean?” Nia asked.

“You surely didn’t think that a mere 200 warriors would be able to take Mt Orlan, did you? They were a mere irritant to us and they are currently all secured and all looking forward to their march to Polis for some reason.”

At that point Nia turned an angry shade of red. Anya, sword at the ready, stepped closer to Clarke and gritted to Nia “I hope that the Commander allows me to punish the warriors for marching through Trikru territory, for the danger that my people may have been in if Skaikru were not prepared for such an attack. That is if there is anything left of Azgeda to punish for such a crime after you have been punished for the crime of attacking the sacred children; in their sleep no less.”

“Thank you for reminding me, Anya” the Commander said. “Guards, place Queen Nia and all her guards under arrest. Any Azgedan found in Polis to be imprisoned with her. We will deal with that after I have killed Ontari tomorrow. Ambassadors, we will reconvene at sundown tomorrow briefly to discuss the punishment. I will proclaim for all of Polis to hear the next day. Your presence at the arena tomorrow is mandatory, dismissed.”

When everyone else had left, Clarke said, I brought some nightblood so we can give you some if necessary. It will stay fresh for a few days. I will wait until after I know you will survive the fight to leave for Mt Orlan. Could someone return the body for me, today? I’ll call Bellamy and let him know what happened. We’ll say I got injured slightly which is the reason for my delay.” 

With the repatriation of Shumway’s body arranged they talked briefly about the warriors amassed at the borders and what might happen now. Clarke got on the radio to Monty and asked if there had been any further movements and what Roan thought. There had been no movements and Roan thought nothing would happen until word reached them of the Queen’s incarceration. They would probably sit tight until after the fight when they knew the outcome.

Clarke asked if Monty had tracked the contingent coming into Polis.

“I’d say only a quarter, if that, actually went into Polis” Monty said. “The rest are parked about five miles, north, north west. That pack is about the same size as each of the two waiting in Azgeda.”

“Too many for us to take without incurring heavy losses” Anya muttered. “You should have brought some of that sleeping gas.”

“I can arrange it, if you want. We could also bring some night vision goggles and tranq darts for those not with the main camp” Clarke offered.

“No” the Commander declared. “It would be nice, but I don’t want the ambassadors to have any excuse to side with Azgeda and using tech weapons would turn some of them against you and me.”

“Okay” Clarke agreed.

The fight between the Commander and Ontari, the rogue Azgedan nightblood went almost as Clarke had thought. It was tougher for the Commander than her fight with Roan in the previous life; probably because Roan didn’t really want to win and put his mother in control of the coalition. As advised, Titus oversaw the cleaning of the weapons to make sure that none were poisoned: but it didn’t work as expected.

Ontari was on the floor, weaponless with the Commander about to end her fight when Ontari smiled. “Even though I die, so do you: I didn’t clean the tip. It might only be a small amount, but you will still die, it will just take longer. Who will be Commander now that there are no known nightbloods. The coalition will fall and Azgeda will sweep in to take control. Long live Azgeda!” was the final statement from Ontari as the Commander ended her fight.

The Commander looked and saw that she had been cut at her breast and arm and wondered how long she would have. She heard about Skaikru’s medicine, and how Wanheda had commanded death to leave Prince Roan when he was about to die. Could Wanheda do the same for her?

“Imprison the Queen. Flamekeeper, dispose of the body. Wanheda, with me” Lexa ordered, determined not to show a hint of weakness.

Once the Commander, Clarke, Anya and Costia reached the Commander’s quarters, Lexa said “She left poison on the tip of her blade. I need you, Wanheda, to see if you can save me” and Lexa began to strip so that Clarke could see all her wounds.

“Costia, I will need clean hot and cold water, my medical bags, two bowls and more light” Clarke said, knowing that Costia needed to do something to help her love. “Anya, I need two tables of the same height close together so the Commander can lie on them face down with her injured chest over the gap. Raven, can you get on the radio and ask if someone can get a dialysis machine here stat.”

Clarke’s requests were quickly carried out. When the Commander was lying face down as Clarke wished, Clarke sliced the breast around where the poisoned tip had struck. “I need to keep track of how much blood is lost so let it all fall into that bowl, please” Clarke instructed as she looked over the wound on the arm. “No poison here, I think. Costia, can you double check for me, please? Anya, can you see if you can get Ontari’s body here? I want to take some of her blood, if possible. The Commander will need a complete blood transfusion so we’re going to need all the black blood we can get.”

Costia was given the job of washing down the Commander’s body with cold water to check for any sign of other injuries and slow the blood movement. Clarke kept an eye on the poisoned breast. Giving the Commander little notice, Clarke cut away a portion of the breast that already showed signs of being diseased. The three units of blood that Clarke brought with her were pumped into the Commander as more than three pints fell into the bowl. Clarke drew nearly four pints from Ontari, letting Costia check that it was not poisoned in any way, before pushing that, too into the Commander. Clarke then drew a pint from herself, just in case it was needed before the dialysis machine could arrive.

“It doesn’t look like there is any poison left, but I want to make sure, Commander” Clarke said. “However, I know you have your meeting with the Ambassadors and it wouldn’t do for you to appear before them as anything other than well. I’ll stitch and bandage you up for the meeting and be ready to continue treatment afterwards. I’m hoping that your blood should be completely cleaned by tomorrow.”

“Anya, please make sure that Wanheda is given every aid she can be offered” the Commander requested of her former first.

“If Wanheda keeps you alive I will give her anything she asks for” Anya promised.

At the meeting of the Ambassadors, the Commander took the unusual step of allowing Wanheda Clarke in as her guest. “As you see, the poison with which Ontari tried to kill me is not working thanks to the efforts of Wanheda who has decided that death will not take me just yet. She will remain with me to make sure that death does not sneak in the night to take me like the Azgeda scum tried with the sacred children. It is thanks to the prior warning of Wanheda that the children were taken to a place of safety. However, that does not mean that all is well. The children who were sleeping in the beds of the sacred children, and their guards were all massacred. The Azgeda Queen attempted to kill the sacred children, and killed innocents in their place. The Azgedans attempted to attack our allies and tried to take over the coalition. What do you think I should do, Ambassadors?”

Clarke listened with disappointment as they all called for war to be declared on Azgeda. She decided to put forward her view. “Excuse me, Commander, I don’t exactly know what was being said, my trig is still very rudimentary, but are you all agreeing that you should fight?”

“The ambassadors all agree, which is unusual in itself, they think we should declare war on Azgeda. What do you think, Wanheda?” the Commander asked.

“Firstly, I apologise that I do not understand your clan politics yet so my thoughts may be too simplistic and not take into account factors about which I am unaware and I beg that you educate me as my ignorance is manifested. Secondly, the attack on us should not be part of the reason for your decision: the Peace Treaty specifically says that you do not react when we are attacked but you allow us to defend ourselves. As to the challenge to the Commander, from the reactions of all of you I thought that was within your laws and therefore unpunishable. Surely, the only crime they have committed is the attempted murder of the sacred children and the actual murder of the innocents, so perhaps the word ‘only’ was incorrectly applied. I do not know what the expected punishment for the attempt on the lives of the sacred children is so cannot comment. The Queen’s own words have condemned her desire to break up the coalition, so can you not kick Azgeda out? If you go to war, how many of your people will be killed? Is the very natural desire to fight worth the cost to the people of the coalition? What would happen if Azgeda was kicked out?” Clarke knew that kicking Azgeda out of the coalition would have the result of Azgeda declaring war, but Clarke wanted to be told that so that she could offer an incentive if the Ambassadors approved for Azgeda not to so declare.

It was Sankru who pointed out that Azgeda would declare war on the coalition.

“If you wanted, we could point out that we have the capability of knowing exactly where Nia’s troops, sorry, warriors are and we would be willing to trade with you four cows and one bull for sending a missile somewhere in Azgeda. We now know that there are six missiles available. I think that they could do an awful lot of damage. To be honest, I would rather not send those missiles anywhere except into the middle of the sea, so would the threat be enough?” Clarke said.

“If you would be willing, I think that the threat would be enough to stop Queen Nia, at least for a while” Anya said. “It would buy us time to prepare better, and I would certainly be willing to trade for information on Azgeda warrior movement so that we would be better prepared to defend ourselves, if necessary. As you know Commander, I like a good fight as much as anyone, but I do not like to lose my people.”

Clarke remembered how much Anya did indeed like a good fight and thought that her desire not to fight if possible was a strong indicator of how much she cared for her people. They only needed to put Azgeda off for four or five months. The death wave would take care of killing the rest: they didn’t need to fight it out.

“Thank you, Ambassadors” the Commander said. “I shall think on all your words and tomorrow we shall reconvene with Queen Nia and I shall hear her words before I pronounce sentence.”

“Wanheda Clarke, I should like the advice of Prince Roan on one or two matters. Can I speak with him over my radio?” the Commander asked when they were alone.

Clarke informed the Commander that she could; she just may have to wait a short while until Roan could be brought to the radio.

The Commander clearly didn’t mind if Clarke understood some of the conversation, but since it was conducted in Trigedesleng, Clarke appeared to not be listening. It took a lot of restraint to appear neutral when the Commander said that she wished to execute the Queen and place the Prince on the throne.

“I thank you, Commander” Roan said, “but it would do no good since as of yet I am not in a position to take command of those loyal to Nia. Wanheda” and at the sound of her title Clarke looked up briefly before reassuming her neutral persona, “has indicated that she thinks I will be strong enough after winter. If I try to lead now I would be treated as a freikdreina and killed, probably by an angry mob. I suggest that for every child and guard killed one of Nia’s people be killed and that Nia receive a none fatal but painful slice, perhaps some damaging the scars of which she is so proud. I agree that to banish Azgeda from the coalition will lead to the declaration of war, but the threat of the missiles will still Nia’s hand. Declare that you will not make any attacks or incursions into Azgeda lands, but if any Azgedan warriors or assassins or spys are found in coalition lands they will be dealt with. Point out that you will trade with Skaikru for information that they can obtain through their tech so Azgeda could not attack without the coalition being prepared. The people who run the bunkers want to give priority to families. Perhaps some should be moved sooner rather than later. If Skaikru’s predictions are accurate, and we have no reason to doubt them, you will not be able to save all your people, with or without Azgeda. A battle or two might actually save some an agonising slow death. I do not believe Wanheda would agree with that final point, though. Wanheda would be more likely to declare that we must keep trying right to the last second to save as many as we can” Roan finished with a bit of a smirk.

The Commander finished her conversation and turned to see Clarke glaring at her. “Why was my title mentioned?” Clarke asked.

“Prince Roan said that you think he would not be ready to take command of Azgeda until Spring, and he didn’t think that you would give up trying to save everyone until the very last second” the Commander replied.

Clarke humphed a little. “He’s right. From what he has said he would be almost immediately challenged and he is not yet ready to fight anyone who is much better than average. As to the latter point, yeah, well, duh. Of course I will keep trying to find safe havens for as many people as I can for as long as I can. Part of the problem is that the safe havens, or bunkers can only protect for a while. The bunker in Polis definitely cannot sustain so large a group indefinitely without some outside help so there will be a severe shortages until the earth recovers, and since we don’t know how long that will take, it could mean a life of starvation for almost everyone if there are too many people fighting over too few resources. Already we could save more people, but it would mean not saving the animals, then what’s the point?”

“I am glad that you are more pragmatic than Prince Roan seems to think you are” the Commander said.

Jackson came with the dialysis machine to oversee its operation on the Commander overnight.

There was still a little poison in the Commander’s blood that was being held in check by the nightblood, but the dialysis machine was able to separate the poisoned blood when it could not extract the poison. Clarke’s blood was used to make sure that the Commander would not appear to be the slightest bit weakened by blood loss. It did not matter if anyone thought that Clarke was a little weak since most of the coalition thought that Skaikru were physically hopeless and could only survive thanks to their tech. It was an impression that Clarke was happy for them to keep, for the time being.

The Ambassadors were waiting, watching the seriously ruffled Queen and her senior guards being manhandled by the Commander’s own guard. There was a slight delay and the word was starting to filter that perhaps the Commander was not in the best of health. Clarke thought that she could have heard a pin drop when the Commander strode into the room the epitome of strength and good health. Since there were no pins, the sound of the Queen’s teeth snapping together more than made up for the lack.

“I have called you all here today to discuss what is to be done with Azgeda and its treasonous Queen. Nia of Azgeda, do you admit you plotted the death of all the sacred children and their guards so that there would be no hindrance to Ontari taking command of the coalition should she have defeated me in solo gonplei?” the Commander got straight to the point.

“Of course it was my idea for Ontari to kill the nighbloods as they slept. I could not risk that one of them would get a lucky strike due to tiredness after she had battled you. With Ontari in Command I would have controlled the coalition and I would have done a much better job that you: giving succour to the sky rats who should all have been exterminated on sight; and I know that many of my fellow leaders, and their ambassadors agree” Nia stood proud.

Clarke thought that the leaders and ambassadors might have thought that at one point, but they certainly didn’t now.

At a nod from the Commander, a guard opened the door and in strode the nightbloods who headed straight for the Commander, lined up and as one, went down on one knee to her. Nia clearly knew who they were because her face paled.

“Welcome back, children” the Commander said. “I hope you enjoyed your change of scenery and have learned something that could be used to help the coalition. I have arranged for you all to have new rooms. Why not go and settle into them. I will call for you all later so that we may discuss what you have learned.”

“Thank you Commander” they all said as they left. That is all bar Aiden. The Commander merely raised a brow at him. Aiden clearly understood that this particular brow was not a reminder to do that which she had commanded, but a suggestion that he makes his request.

“By your leave, Commander, I should like to stay to witness the punishment since it is in part to pay for what I have lost, and for what I could have lost” Aiden asked.

“You may stay, Aiden. I value your input” the Commander agreed, which made Clarke think that the Commander had already spoken to the children to tell them what she proposed and that Aiden had either agreed or made a slightly dissenting comment. Aiden went to stand by the side of the Commander, easing Titus away slightly (which made Clarke smirk in amusement, although she would deny it to anyone who asked that her smile was in any way connected to the way Aiden manoeuvred Titus).

“I know that all the children would feel it an honour to have died in the place of one of the sacred nightbloods, but that does not make it right. For the murder of the seven innocent children and five guards twelve of your people will be put to death” the Commander declared and 24 guards entered and went straight to the 12 who had clearly been previously identified. “Your deaths, like those you pay for will be quick, but unlike the others, yours will be witnessed. Take them and tie them to the stakes I had erected in the arena. For the attempted murder of the sacred children Queen Nia, you will receive seven cuts, one cut to represent what you almost had taken from us. Take her and tie her to the other stake. The remaining prisoners will be escorted there to watch. The ceremony will begin almost immediately. Aiden, do you still wish to take part?”

“By your leave, Commander, I ask that I be allowed to carry out all the cuts to the Queen on behalf of all my brothers and sisters” Aiden said. The Commander nodded her assent, a proud look upon her face.

Aiden walked up to Clarke, who was still lurking in the background since there was no official reason for her to be present, and asked “I require a small, sharp blade, I believe you called it a scalpel. Could I borrow one, please?” Clarke didn’t think he could do more actual damage with a scalpel then he could with any sharp knife so saw no reason not to grant his request.

A crowd had gathered at the arena. They clearly saw that there would be more action with 13 people, including the notoriously brutal Azgedan Queen Nia, tied to stakes that had appeared overnight.

The Commander, with Aiden on her right hand side, and Gustus and Titus following behind, led the procession of the Ambassadors, the rest of the Azgedan prisoners, bound and gagged, Clarke and Anya and an assortment of others from the tower. Clarke wondered if Titus being gently pushed aside was receiving his punishment for not being thorough with his checking that the blades were clean.

“People of the coalition” the Commander spoke in Trig, “Queen Nia of Azgeda had admitted to plotting to kill all the sacred children while they slept in their beds. Thanks to the warnings of Wanheda the children were kept safe. Instead, seven other innocent children and five guards were murdered. To pay for those deaths I sentence these twelve Azgeda warriors to die as did the innocents.”

******

At the nod from the Commander, one of the guards from the tower called out “Die as did” and they named either one of the guards or the innocent children and killed the Azgedan the same way as the person named was killed.

Once the twelve executions were carried out the Commander spoke again. “Because the Queen did not succeed in her plan, she will not be killed today” and the Commander raised a hand to quieten the sounds of disagreement from the crowd; “but she will receive seven cuts to her face, one to represent each of the children she tried to have killed. Aiden will carry out this part of the Queen’s punishment.”

Aiden kept his face resolute as he walked up to the Queen. “As nightbloods, we accept that we will be called upon to live for the coalition or to die for it. But if we die for it, we expect it to be in battle, or a fair and open fight, not to be murdered in our beds by those no better than cowardly thieves of the night. This is for Lettie” and Aiden made the first cut, a vicious slice down one side of her crescent scar: he had clearly heard about and followed Roan’s advice as five more cuts were made until her scars were all but obliterated. For the final cut, Aiden swopped his knife for the scalpel which he then proceeded to stick up the Queen’s nose and cut off the cartilage that separated the nostrils – bloody painful, or what? Clarke did not understand how the Queen had not passed out with the pain she had to be feeling, let alone how she managed not to scream her guts out, satisfying herself with guttural groans despite not being gagged.

*********

When Aiden had returned to the Commander, seemingly to have grown a couple of inches in the time he was slicing Queen Nia, the Commander raised her hand to indicate she had more to say.

“Due to the actions of the Queen of Azgeda, the coalition was nearly left without a Commander, and without a nightblood to take the flame. She led an army that has camped a few miles away from Polis and has two more on the borders ready to take charge had her plan come to fruition. These points mean that I have no other option than to banish Azgeda from the coalition. Azgedans within the land of the coalition have until sundown tomorrow to turn themselves in to clan leaders to arrange safe passage to the Azgeda border, or to swear allegiance to another clan or be tried as a spy. Should Azgeda decide to declare war on the coalition, either by word or action, Skaikru has agreed to trade information with the coalition, and, in extremis, for four cows and a bull, send a missile to any destination that would harm Azgeda the most.”

Clarke had to exert much self control to not react to the incorrect paraphrasing of what she offered to do; although it did receive loud laughter from the crowd.

There was another point that the Commander wished to make. “Additionally, I wish to make clear, now that Azgeda is no longer part of the coalition, if you make another attack on our allies, Skaikru, we reserve the right to help defend them. As you know, Skaikru do not kill those who attack them unless they see no other option; we are not so willing to see the good in everyone and Anya insists that many in Trikru would welcome the opportunity to end the Azgedan lives that Skaikru in their kindness wish only to value. We shall negotiate a new Treaty to recognise this new reality.”

Clarke was worried about that but then decided the Treaty would be negotiated to call for volunteers rather than warriors being commanded: she could live with that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song that Shumway was humming and Clarke singing was 'We'll Meet Again' made famous by Dame Vera Lynn when it became the theme for the troops (in the UK, at least) going off to fight in the second world war.
> 
> I have assumed that a dialysis machine in the future is slightly more than a dialysis machine is currently. I do not believe one could currently remove the poison the way the one in my story did.
> 
> I hope that the actions of Aiden did not offend anyone. I don't think they're enough to warrant a change to the rating (let me know if it's otherwise) but I some some people don't like gore, hence the warning.


	20. Moonshine, Girl Talk and Soulmates

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team in the know decide to get drunk and talk about who their soulmates are. Some old wounds are opened and healed. Bellamy and Clarke have a heart to heart conversation.

Clarke and Raven were on their way back to Mt Orlan with Anya who was looking forward to escorting the 186 Azgedan prisoners back to Azgeda territory. They would be told the same thing as the Azgedans in Polis. The Commander herself had declared that she would accompany Scum Queen Nia to the battalion camped north of Polis to inform them of their new status and to advise of the consequences of fighting against it. Anya wondered if the Queen would be able to retain her throne after that abject humiliation – not that she cared one way or another, really but she did hope that the ending would be bloody, painful and torturously long.

A brief stopover in TonDC to set up the prisoner escort and Anya was back in the rover with Clarke and Raven to hurry to Mt Orlan. Apparently the Delfikru twins had arrived and Clarke and Raven were eager to meet them.

“It is possible that they can be separated, and if on examination that proves to be the case we will offer them the option” Clarke said when Anya asked why she was eager to meet them. “And even if they can’t, I’m hoping that by accepting them, valuing their expertise in the care and husbandry of animals, they decide to stay with us. To us, Siamese twins are not freaks, they are miracles. I know you think Roan is now a freak, I think he is a miracle and I bet that you will soon agree with me when he beats you in a fight.”

Anya snorted in derision at the idea that a one armed freak could ever beat her in a fight no matter what marvels the Skaikru Tekheda performs on his arm: but perhaps they could indulge in a small bet when Wanheda deems him fit to fight again; or she could offer to fight him with one hand behind her back, yeah, she could do that while waiting to escort the scum to their border.

Clarke made sure to introduce herself to the twins: Marta and Megan.

“I am so grateful to you both for agreeing to come to help us learn to look after our animals” Clarke was careful not to refer to the fact that they would have been ordered to come by their Commander and clan chief. “I understand that you also may be able to help us learn how to benefit from what the animals can give us like milk, butter and cheese. I don’t think you can understand how much this means to us, so thank you; thank you so very much and if there is anything we can do for you, please make sure to let us know. I hope your accommodations are satisfactory and you have everything you need. If there is anything lacking, please do not hesitate to let Zoe know, or Bellamy. We are very much in your debt so please, if there is anything we can do to repay you, let us know. I’m sorry, I keep repeating myself. Welcome to Mt Orlan, I hope you enjoy your time with us.” Clarke noticed that although they were joined at the top of their arms only, and it looked like it was nothing more than skin deep, they walked around holding hands. It was something that could be due to physical ease, or mental support.

Clarke took Anya to view Roan’s training with Echo and she was amazed at how normal he looked as he battled away, using his false arm as a shield to block an attack, something that he couldn’t have done had it been a normal arm. Perhaps Wanheda was correct and the loss of his arm would not make the splita useless.

“It looks like you are getting so much better with your left arm, Roan” Clarke said. “I know it will take a while to overcome years of your brain telling you that your right arm was dominant. Do you think you are controlled enough with it to try and trim your beard yet?”

Echo smirked while Roan snorted. “No, and nor will I let anyone else try. As you say I am getting better. It will not be long before I will trust myself with a sharp knife so close to my throat.”

“Come on, you know how good I am with a sharp knife up close and personal. I could shave pretty patterns of flowers, start a trend” and when Wanheda was met with nothing more than a raised brow she just gave the splita a blinding smile. Anya was beginning to worry for the poor prince, and anyone else who she wanted to be by her side in whatever was happening: they wouldn’t stand a chance.

“Actually I came to get you to start thinking about the next challenge I’m giving you” Clarke said as she went to lie on the floor. “I have just been knocked out in a battle. I have some very important information that you need. You need to rescue me and get me to safety in order to get this information. How are you going to do that? Come on, rescue me. Echo, he’ll need to be able to do it without fighting off an attacker at first, we can increase the challenge once he’s mastered stage one.”

At that the prince knelt down and tried to life Clarke using nothing more than his good arm: he was not able to get sufficient leverage.

“Dammit, how do you expect me to be able to pick you up with only one good arm?” he growled.

“If you can’t do it with only the one good arm, think about how you can use your other one. There you go, challenge for the week. Anya is here to head a group of Trikru to march the 186 warriors back to Azgeda. Queen Nia knows that only 186 will go because I told her that I was keeping 15 of them for two years as compensation for the attack and for the death of Guardsman Shumway who took a poisoned blade that was meant for me. She didn’t seem too bothered about it. Azgeda has been evicted from the coalition so there are now 11 clans. I fear for Floukru and have suggested to the Commander that she ask Floukru to come inland now. I have no idea if she will. Anya, Roan and Echo know what’s going on. I know the Commander will tell you everything at the next meeting of the clan leaders in three days’ time. It is very important that you are there for that even if it means leaving one of your warriors in charge of the march. I know you want to play with the Azgedans but you need to be with the Commander she will need your support and advice. And, I believe Titus will need watching. He is loyal to the flame, but I can’t see how he can be loyal to the Commander given that he disregarded her instructions over the Peace Treaty and he didn’t check that Ontari had removed all the poison from her weapons before their fight putting the Commander at grave risk. If I had not been there the Commander would have died and he really doesn’t seem to understand … bah, there’s no point in going on about that man, I really do not like him and don’t know how anyone puts up with him.”

“Finished your rant, Wanheda?” Roan asked.

Clarke smirked, “yeah, sorry. I’ll leave you two to carry on. Echo, we’re getting drunk tonight; Roan you are not invited, girls’ night.”

Clarke, Echo, Octavia and Raven were in Octavia’s room since it had the biggest bed because she shared with Lincoln (who had been advised to find alternative accommodation for the night). Monty had been very happy to hand over a bottle of moonshine and Raven brought a bottle of wine from Polis that she had somehow acquired.

“You know, I was surprised that I really don’t feel the pull to Lexa this time” Clarke said out of the blue. “I don’t know if it’s coz I’m different or coz she’s different.”

“Can’t it be a bit of both?” Raven asked. “I didn’t feel the pull for Finn when I woke up and the idea of being in love with him was laughable: he was just so young.”

“Well you always were nearly two years older than him and for teenagers that’s a long time, and then you add all the living you did down here first time and yeah, he would seem very young to you. Even Bellamy seemed a bit young to me when I first woke up: but Maya and Jasper still feel the pull and are starting to get it on” Octavia said. “We should have invited Maya to join us.”

“We will next time. How come you and Jasper get to be with your love but we don’t?” Raven lamented. “Echo, who is your love? Is it Roan?”

“No way! I admit that the first time I had a bit of a crush on him but I was very frustrated with him a lot since he didn’t behave like I expected an Azgedan King to behave” Echo offered.

“I know: he wouldn’t let you kill me” drunken Clarke inserted.

“I know, and he was supposed to be Nia’s heir and she wanted you dead but he never did. I think it was because he was in love with you, but I don’t think he knew that” Echo seemed sad. “Why didn’t he know he was in love with you?”

“Oooh, this is good” Octavia but in. “I think Echo’s right. He never took to Bellamy, probably because he was jealous of how close you two were and he always protected you. Were you in love with him, too?”

Clarke snorted. “No, I’d barely got over my relationship with Lexa. I was in love with Finn only to discover that he had made me the other woman and that his girlfriend was great and did not deserve to be cheated on with. Finn was in love with me and I killed him. I was in love with Lexa and she betrayed me and my people and died in my arms. Lexa was in love with me and she got killed instead of me. After that I was determined not to fall in love or have anyone fall in love with me so I kind of switched off about it all.”

“Is that why you and Bellamy never got together?” Raven asked. “I always used to wonder why you two weren’t together; the UST was really bad at times.”

“I was not going to be notch on anyone’s bed post” Clarke offered. “When we first landed we didn’t like each other. I think I was the only girl over the age of 16 who didn’t sleep with Bellamy from the camp. I thought we might get together when I first escaped from Mt Weather, but it didn’t happen, don’t know why, and then Finn flipped and I just couldn’t.”

“Why did you leave after Mt Weather instead of staying with the people who needed you?” Octavia asked. “I think I hated you for that, for making Bellamy go in there to be tortured and then abandoning him when he needed you the most.”

The reality of the question sobred Clarke quite quickly. “Because if I had gone in that camp I would have gone on a killing spree that would have made Finn’s look tame. Other than Bellamy and Monty, and you, O, I wanted to kill the lot of them, including you, Raven. It was bad enough that the other kids were still there, but you were warned so how did the rest of you get caught? More people that I had to protect, more people who I couldn’t stop being tortured. I hated you all for making me have to become a mass murderer to save your lives and if I had gone into that camp, I would have snapped. Why did no one help me when I needed them? I don’t know how many times I tried to tell people what was happening but they wouldn’t believe me. I don’t know how many times I argued with my mother about the mountain but I was just a kid who knew nothing. I was just so angry with almost everyone and needed a break from fighting to keep everyone alive so why did no one help me?”

At Clarke’s lament Octavia and Raven sat stunned. At no point had they thought that Clarke would feel like she had been abandoned by them. They thought that they had the right to be angry at her for leaving them and didn’t give a moment’s thought to what she had been suffering. Echo just looked puzzled.

“I’m sorry, Clarke” Raven said. “That’s one of the reasons you tried to do everything when we came back isn’t it, you don’t feel you can rely on us to have your back do you?”

“Because I can’t” Clarke said. “I relied on Bellamy and look what happened with Pike; I relied on you Rae, but you held it against me that I didn’t get us all killed by killing Lexa instead of Finn, making me choose who should be on the list when I didn’t want to and it wasn’t fair that I should have to because, according to you, choosing who lives and who dies is my speciality; I relied on my mom but she treated me like a fragile ignorant child; I relied on my dad and he got himself floated and me in lock up because he wouldn’t listen to others; I relied on Finn and it turned out he was lying to me; I relied on the Commander and she betrayed our alliance. Octavia, you were clear that I should never rely on you unless it was to be of benefit to you or yours, and I was not yours. Echo, you were always open and clear about wanting me dead so I have no problem with you except it was a shitty thing you did to Bellamy and I would love to know why you wanted me dead so much.”

“Because I was jealous of the respect everyone gave you and thought that you would be Roan’s downfall” Echo lamented. “I should have seen that you could have been his saviour. It would not have changed this result, but you could have had him to rely on.”

“I did in a way” Clarke smiled as she thought back to her times with Roan. “As long as it was not against Azgeda’s interests, I knew Roan would have my back if he could. Azgeda came first which was a form of reliability so knowing that, I just had to make sure that what I wanted was also in Azgeda’s interests. Me taking the flame and the conclave was the only times we couldn’t reach agreement because he wanted to save more than 100 of his people and didn’t care so much about everyone else while I wanted everyone to have the same chance: now I’ll focus more on my people and help others only when it’s not at the expense of mine. At least this time I’m not the one drawing up the lists, that’s the Commander’s job since all of mine are safe. Now the mountain people are gone, I don’t have to choose who lives or dies anymore because I’m choosing for all of mine to live” and Clarke put her head down into her arms and fell asleep with a smile on her face.

Echo looked at the other two women and wondered why they thought they had the right to despise Clarke for making the decisions that saved their lives.

“I think we forgot that Clarke was only human and a child when we came down” Octavia said. “All through her life she had been isolated due to the status of her parents with only really Wells as peer company. I know that she sort of had friends as a child but they soon fell by the wayside as status began to affect how they thought of her. We weren’t very nice when we came down, called her ‘Princess’ and it wasn’t as a complement.”

“Yeah, and don’t forget that before the drop ship she was in solitary confinement for over a year, that must have sucked” Raven added. “It’s no wonder with everyone else hating her she fell for Finn’s charms. Although I tried not to, I did blame her a bit for that. Somehow, she should have been able to tell that he was committed to me.”

“Actually, he wasn’t committed to you” Echo pointed out. “You were committed to him but he was committed to himself. He may have made a commitment, but he didn’t mean it beyond the moment. You should have been grateful to Clarke instead of angry.”

“That’s why I slept with Bellamy, to pay Clarke and Finn back” Raven confessed.

“Did it help?” Clarke muttered, clearly not as far gone as they had thought.

“No, I just felt guilty when I realised that you and Finn had been kidnapped. I was banging out my anger, and you were in danger, more guilt equals more anger. To be honest, once I found out about you and Finn you really did have no way to win with me, and that’s Finn’s and my fault. Will you and Bellamy get together now this time, do you think?” Raven tried to change the subject.

“No” Clarke was emphatic.

“Why not?” Octavia seemed to take umbrage on behalf of her brother.

“He doesn’t understand me. Last time we both did awful things to survive and save our people. This time he still has his innocence. I do not. We are not equals now and he has no real understanding of what it’s like, and I care enough about him to be glad” Clarke added.

“I know what you mean” Echo said. “Last time I could see myself with Bellamy if we were not enemies because I felt that we were equals. This time, like you, Clarke, I see the innocence and know that we would not suit. But I want to know who we would suit. Why do you, Octavia, still have your man while the rest of us have changed so much that the previous possibles are no longer possible?”

“Yeah, ‘snot fair, O. Why do you still get to have Lincoln?” Clarke asked.

“The time between waking up again and coming down has allowed me to let go of my anger and to be just a more grown up version of Lincoln’s Octavia. I actually think that we suit each other better now. This time we are equals and I am not the child he has to help nurture to adulthood. I am just lucky, I guess. So, who are the possibles for you three? We should make a list and rank them” Octavia got excited. “First, we have to consider Roan, who else?”

“Anya” Clarke said. “She’s hot and she’s a badass.”

“Oh so true” Raven noted. “You don’t think she and Roan could pair up, do you? That would remove the two of them from us.”

Echo snorted. “Apart from the fact that no matter how well they got along Azgeda and Trikru would find it hard to form such a bond, I think they would be more like siblings than lovers.”

Clarke pulled a face as she thought about it and “yeah, you’re right. They are exactly like siblings. We should get them together more for the entertainment if nothing else. What about Kyle Wick, Raven? Do you think you and he could make a go of it this time?”

“I wouldn’t mind having a go, but I don’t know if it would work. We should ask for him to join us here, and maybe pick a few more younger ones to come, Wells?”

“I like Wells” Octavia said. “He has a nice smile, but sad eyes. I think he and Lincoln would get on really well.”

“The Commander likes him” Echo said. “She admires his brain and has suggested ways to improve his physical strength.”

“They play long distance chess” Clarke clarified for the others. “You know, Echo, you have a lot of physical capabilities, but you’re not so hot on cool, calm, strategy. Perhaps you and Wells could make a go of it, although he might be a bit young for you; he is only 18 and you might prefer someone a bit more seasoned.”

“I don’t have a problem with a slightly younger man” Echo said. “And I don’t have a problem with a man that I could always beat in a fight; in fact that might be preferable.”

As the others thought about that last comment they burst into giggles.

“I think I will get on the radio to Jaha senior and ask him to choose about 100 younger people, under 25s preferably to stay with us and to include Kyle Wick and Wells, who could act as their Ambassador. I’ll say that the younger people seem to be able to adapt to our way of living better than the older ones, but we would also take some older ones, up to 20 of them, if they really are sure that they can live under our rule and accept that we have none skai people living with us too who are to be treated the same as the rest of us. Some of those here will be going to Area 51 because they are unable to adapt to living with different rules and people. We need more young people for us to grow. Rae, how many were left in the box, can we ask for any of them?”

“I wouldn’t want the ones over 14 that we didn’t choose: two rapists, one torturer, three with multiple assaults and one murderer with no mitigating circumstances. You could ask for all six or so of the inmates of skybox under the age of 14 to be sent to us. We can put Roan in charge of the male delinquents” Raven suggested.

“Yeah, I think we should do that” Octavia said. “Echo can be in charge of any females who step out of line, as long as you don’t kill them” she added with a smile at Echo.

“I only follow Clarke’s commands” Echo stuck her tongue out at Octavia in a remarkably childish gesture that had them all laughing.

“At least we have Marta and Megan for Bellamy” Octavia noted. “They are brilliant for him, aren’t they? Perhaps we should ask Lincoln to fix you all up.”

That suggestion was met with universal agreement since Lincoln was clearly so great at match-making.

Clarke was talking to Marta and Megan and asked them if they wanted to be separated or if they preferred to be so connected.

“I think I understand that to be separate would be a big change, possibly frightening, but you could still walk around linking arms or holding hands, you would just be able to go to the bathroom alone, find it easier to get dressed. I know those are fairly superficial reasons for wanting to be separated, but there is one reason, from a medical point of view that I do seriously ask you to consider, it would drastically reduce the risk of you passing an infection from one to the other. Currently, if one of you gets sick, then the other will too. Separating the blood flow would drastically reduce the chance of the infection passing from one to the other” Clarke didn’t want to scare them, but she did want them to be realistic. She didn’t say, because she didn’t want to even acknowledge that it should be a factor, but if they were separated then they may be treated better by their clan’s people.

Marta and Megan looked at each other. Clarke already could tell the differences in their personalities. It would be Marta who spoke.

Clarke was correct. “Why do you want to separate us? Are we not acceptable to you as freaks?”

“Firstly, you’re not freaks, at least not as far as we are concerned. To us you are miracles. On the Arc there was a one child law so any pregnancy that showed two babies growing was always terminated. Now that we can, we choose to embrace all life and two babies growing together is a miracle, a gift and that is how we view you. Also, have you met our senior shoe maker? He has no legs and he is valuable to us. He doesn’t come outside much because it is difficult for him, but he does get around inside quite well. It did take a while for him to manage without his legs, and he is still in severe pain from the surgery, but to him, us, and most importantly, his son, his life is worthwhile. He lost his legs thanks to the acid fog that this place used to send out. But at least he still has his life. You are completely acceptable to us and it makes no difference to us whether or not you are joined. We welcome you and are glad of your presence and nothing will alter our regard for you.”

“Thank you. We will talk about it and let you know” Marta said.

With a shy smile from Megan the pair turned and walked away from Clarke.

Clarke and Bellamy were just finishing their round up meeting with Bellamy picking up on one of Clarke’s reasons for wanting more young people to join them: finding life partners for them all.

“Octavia and Raven both thought that I was your soul mate, you know?” he said to Clarke.

“Yeah, based on the previous life I get why they thought that” Clarke decided to be totally honest with him. “This life, you are a lot more innocent than I. I’m not saying you are ignorant, or naïve, but you haven’t killed hundreds of people to save a handful and I’m sure the idea of doing so is abhorrent to you. The previous you had just as much blood on your hands, in fact you had more, so you understood me, and I understood you the way no one else could. In this life, even though I’ve only killed those from the mountain; and how awful it is that I’ve used the word ‘only’ in this context; I remember and still feel the pain of the other deaths. You don’t have that stain upon your psyche and that is the way I want it to stay. I need someone who can understand the pain of mass murder while you need someone who doesn’t.”

“Yeah, I get that” Bellamy said after he thought for a moment. “So who are you thinking of?”

Clarke wasn’t sure if he was asking who she thought of for herself or for him, but she answered the latter. “I think Marta and Megan would be perfect for you. Marta to stand up to you, Megan for both you and Marta to coddle and protect. They will each be good for a different side of you, and I think you would be good for them. You would love and appreciate the individuals, but accept them as a whole. I don’t know many who could.”

Bellamy seemed a bit gobsmacked, but she was sure that Octavia had already started the ball rolling on that front: perhaps Octavia had been a bit too subtle? “It might be a bit tame compared to your Roman and Greek Gods and Goddesses lifestyle, but I don’t know of anyone who would really want to live like that and it might account for your adaptability” Clarke said with a shrug. “Think about it and make a move: very self serving of me, I know, but I don’t want them to leave and you could be the key to us keeping them. Go and make them happy.”

Clarke went to find Octavia and Raven to tell them what she had just said to Bellamy.

“I guess I was being too subtle” Octavia lamented. “How he didn’t pick up on my hints I’ll never know: men!”

“Something my dad used to say that I never really understood was ‘sometimes you have to hit people over the head with a two by four to get the message across’. Do you think I metaphorically did that to Bellamy?”

“It’s a plank of wood” Raven explained. “A two by four is, or used to be, a standard size for a plank of wood used in certain wood building stuff, I don’t know what” she huffed at the end when she realised she didn’t fully understand Jake Griffin’s saying either. “But I guess you did just hit Bellamy with a metaphorical two by four. Let’s go and tell Lincoln and Echo. They’re training with Roan.”

The three went to speak to their friends and finding them with Roan they included him in with their plan.

“Can you separate them?” Roan asked.

“Just looking at them can’t give me definite answers, but I would think so, and quite easily, too if they’re only joined how I think they are. Anyway, I’ve done all I can do until they give me the go ahead” Clarke said as she looked over Roan. “Roan, why can I see blood on your clothes? I thought training was not supposed to lead to injuries” and seeing the surprised looks on both Echo and Lincoln Clarke went to remove his top so she could look at the wound.

The whole of Roan’s upper arm was red and there were many places where the prosthetic had rubbed the skin away. “Bloody hell, Roan. Now we have to wait for these abrasions to heal before you can put on your arm again. Dammit, where is the leather cuff that you’re supposed to wear to protect the skin from exactly this?”

“I was late and it takes time to attach it properly” Roan grumbled like a child.

Clarke took the metal arm and passed it to Raven. “Here, Rae, don’t let him have it back. You can begin work on his new arm, but it is not to be fitted until Jackson or I give the all clear. Come on, let’s go and get that cleaned up. I am not having you die of infection on me now. Men: where’s a two by four when you need one?”

Roan and Lincoln looked at each other in puzzlement before Lincoln just shrugged his ignorance. Raven and Octavia were sniggering while Echo smirked knowingly as Roan meekly followed Clarke away from the training room to the med bay.

Clarke cleaned the abrasions, none were too bad and it all would be completely healed within a few days, but that was not the point.

“If you undo all the good work Jackson and I did to allow you to keep this much of your arm I’m going to be pissed. If you get this infected we might as well have just lopped it off at the shoulder so that you would have no control over your prosthetic; it would just hang there, an almost useless limb. I thought you would prefer to have an arm that was useful as well as decorative. Once you’re cleared to attach your new arm, you are going to be fed up of people asking to check that you’re wearing your cuff because I am going to make sure that you do not do this again – understand?” Clarke couldn’t understand why she was so upset. She was crying an awful lot these days.

“Hey, Clarke, it’s not that bad” Roan tried to calm Clarke down. “I promise that I won’t do it again, and not just because you pointed out the dangers, but also because it didn’t work right if it wasn’t fitted properly. You don’t need to get people to gang up on me, I promise.”

Clarke just looked at Roan and humphed. “I’ll decide that later. Here, use this after washing it every morning and evening and if there is even a hint of yellow in any discharge come straight here. Sleeve pinned up or left hanging?”

Roan decided to leave it hanging. “I should apologise to you and thank you” Roan said, continuing when Clarke looked at him in puzzlement. “Not even Lincoln looks at me with pity anymore and Echo has wondered if it would be possible for Raven to make her a new arm guard that would have a hidden blade. Some of your people don’t like me, but it has nothing to do with my injury, does it?”

“No, they just don’t like any outsiders, but soon some of them, if not all will be gone. We’ll have more people join us soon and we’ll take some to Area 51. They’ll need to prepare for what’s to come and what they can do to preserve the flora and fauna and they need help so we’re going to give it to them. Do you want to come on a long road trip with us? It will take about three days to get there if the vehicles can go the whole way. I have no idea how long it would take to go by horse, nor what we would face once out of coalition lands. Echo, Lincoln and Octavia as well as some gunners, who will not be allowed to use their weapons until we leave coalition lands, are also coming with us. Even though you’re not up to full strength yet, I still trust you more than anyone else we could comfortably call on.”

Roan looked at Clarke in surprise. “If you really mean that then I would be honoured to form part of your guard.”

Clarke just smiled at Roan and said “good”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Clarke has now accepted that Roan is 'a possible' for her. She will, I think, also give more consideration to Anya who is the female Roan (a hot badass) and Clarke does like both. Perhaps it is a good idea to get a neutral third party like Lincoln on the case!
> 
> The change in tags is to reflect that Marta and Megan will play a bigger role in the story, and I've paired up Jasper and Maya.
> 
> As a separate aside, I grew up hearing about the necessity of hitting men over the head with a 'to be for' said like it was one word and had no idea what the hell it meant until I did a bit of woodworking and discovered it was a 'two by four'. When I held my first '2x4' I immediately appreciated its usefulness in hitting men over the head!


	21. Going to Area 51

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang travel to Area 51 taking with them some of the people who couldn't settle in Mt Orlan. On the way, they meet some new people.
> 
> Octavia reveals some information of interest to Raven.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pronounce 'Areasi' as 'airy assi'

The day had arrived for the convoy to set off for Area 51, or Areasi as Monty had taken to calling it, and was somehow catching on. Six vehicles - three trucks and three rovers, would take 39 people who were moving to Area 51 from Mt Orlan, including Lucas and three others from the bunkers; Clint and ten other older people from Farm Station; five of the guards who didn’t like the new regime in Mt Orlan and others from former Alpha station who didn’t approve of being co-led by a former Factory man.

Indra was also going on the return journey, as was Aiden. Indra had been tasked with organising the stocking of animals and goods that they were to preserve for the future in Polis. Aiden would be staying in Areasi with the other Clans people and would act as their leader while they were there. Titus insisted, and the Commander saw the logic of it, that each clan choose a warrior who would swear to forgo all clan loyalties and act as Aiden’s guard when he leaves for Areasi for the five years. Aiden thought it unnecessary for him to have ten guards but accepted that it would allow them to be rotated and have time off and no clan would feel offended at being left out.

As well as transporting people, one of the trucks had piles of furs, leather, fabrics, grain, seeds and 20 chickens. Other animals would be taken when the area for them had been prepared.

Each vehicle carried a Skaikru member (or, former Skaikru if they were one of the guards staying in Areasi) armed with a tranquilising rifle (that they could carry while in coalition lands) and a live fire gun that had to remain locked up until such a time as they left the coalition lands and they had no idea what they might find out there. The front passenger also had a pair of binoculars and was armed with sword and knives and knew how to work the radio.

The lead rover, driven by Clarke, was using GP Satellite Navigation as planned by the tech heads in Areasi who checked for obstructions along the proposed route. All the drivers said that they needed to make sure that others could take over some of the responsibility since it was actually mentally exhausting. At least they were let off from guard duty when they camped. Clarke and Bellamy gave up on trying to insist that a guard rotation was not necessary since they were watched by Areasi controlled drones.

It was two days after they had left Mt Orlan that Areasi called to say that they were being followed by six riders. They first spotted them just after dawn and they watched to be sure they were following them before calling.

It was decided that they would try to ambush them that night. It turned out to be remarkably easy since the people were not trying to be stealthy. They said they were the last people of their tribe from the Rockies near the old area of Colorado. They thought they were the last people on earth. Clarke and Bellamy invited them to live with them in Mt Orlan if they wanted to join their clan. It was an offer that was eagerly accepted. They had no guns and no swords, just some knives which they were allowed to keep. Clarke was more excited about the horses, four mares and two stallions, although a couple of them did not look to be in the best of health.

It was pointed out that the vehicles could move quicker than the horses so it was agreed that the riders would go back the way the convoy had come and they would meet up in about four days’ time.

“No offense” one of the riders, Cole, said “but your trail was dead easy to pick up so we’ll have no problem with finding you.”

“Don’t ride for more than four days without picking us up because you could enter into coalition territory and that could be dangerous” Aiden warned.

It looked like Cole was about to argue with the kid, but some sage nods stopped him and he instead thanked Aiden for the tip.

The bunker was fairly easy to find once they were close enough to see it. The facility included a large hangar that the vehicles could be in and would allow everyone to walk around while being out of the sun until it was safe to let everyone in the bunker itself. The hangar had all the facilities so no one was put out while Clarke went in to vaccinate all the residents with marrow. Given the time it would take Clarke and Aiden to get through the decontamination and for the time it would take for the injections to have taken, everyone knew they would be upstairs for a minimum of three or four hours so settled down to make themselves comfortable – stretching, hydrating, eating and toileting were the chores they did before they started to chat, mostly about the risks of inviting six more people to join Skaikru. Raven, eyebrows raised in exasperation gave the lecture on genetic diversification.

“That’s why you’re so keen on having outsiders join you” Clint said in astonishment as if he had never heard of the theory.

“It is by no means the only reason” Bellamy said. “The people we’ve invited to stay with us we actually like and want their company; and we really appreciate all that they can teach us, but we would not be opposed to the mixing up of all our different genes if people felt so inclined - but we are not going to ask for it. Don’t forget that after the death wave, we in Mt Orlan will number only around 500 so we will need as much genetic diversification as possible in order to thrive. Even if the genes don’t mix in this generation, somewhere down the line they will.”

Roan snorted “Now I know why Wanheda was keen to find me, for my superior genes. Are you completely sure you thought this through and want my mother’s genes to be part of your clan?”

Everyone who knew details of Roan’s mother laughed at that. “I don’t think she thought of that. Still, nature verses nurture, you seemed to have turned out alright and I’m sure you could ensure that any offspring you have are decent human beings” Raven said.

“I thank you for your confidence in me” Roan smirked with a bow towards Raven “but I am sure you think that it is their mother who will do that”.

Raven, Echo and Octavia just laughed.

Inside the bunker, which was a marvel even by Clarke’s standards, Aiden was talking to Jansis, the nominated liaison, about the coalition’s contribution to the stores, and where everyone and everything would stay. Jansis said that they began to increase their farm production as soon as they spoke to Clarke and would store what was not needed in the interim. She suggested that it might be best if those who were settling with them should have one area of the bunker, and Aiden’s people the other. Aiden thought it sensible because he was sure he would have a hard enough time keeping control of his people without adding Skai people who did little to hide their animosity.

The area the coalition people would inhabit was next to the large room that Jansis suggested they fill with soil, grassed, if possible, for the animals. The lighting could be set to mimic natural daylight so they should settle. Aiden thought that it would take an awful lot of soil to fill and said so. 

“Yeah, we’ve thought of that. I was going to ask Clarke if she could leave one of her trucks with us and we could get started on that straight away. For the time being we could put some stalks and leaves on the floor of one of the smaller rooms, and make some boxes for the chickens. As soon as we were told about them we got to work and we think this will be acceptable to them” and Aiden was shown another room. He thought that the room would be good for about fifty chickens, or more for a while.

Aiden suggested that once some of the people from the clans had been selected to come to Areasi, that they arrive as soon as possible to make the animal room safe for all the animals they proposed bringing. He added that some of the smaller rooms could house other smaller animals. Jansis said that when the time came for the coalition people to leave them, the people of Areasi would like to be gifted one third of the animals, including the fish that would, hopefully, live in the river they were building to flow around the area above the animals. Aiden had expected to be asked for one half and agreed.

The other item Jansis asked for was for one pair of outdoor shoes to be provided for every current resident, and one pair of indoor shoes. “We have no one who can make them. If no one from the ARC who plans to stay can make them we will either have to trade for shoes or for lessons.” 

Aiden thought it was reasonable, especially when Jansis said that they would not ask for anything else from the stores, unless their farm failed and it was needed to restart it. That too was agreed.

Jansis showed Aiden the arboretum where they grew all their flowers and herbs, and had their bee hives. Aiden pointed out that Mt Orlan had nothing like this so they could use the advice on how to found one. “I shall ask our botanist to speak to Clarke and whoever she nominates” Jansis agreed.

Once she had finished all the injections and they were just waiting for the final person to be cleared, Clarke was brought up to date on everything Jansis and Aiden had discussed. She immediately agreed to leave one of the trucks and thanked Jansis immensely for help in setting up an arboretum so that the bees had plenty of flowers to feast from. She did say that Mt Orlan hoped to have at least two hives and that they were expecting that one hive could enjoy the nectar from the fruit and berry blossoms that they were hoping to grow.

Indra, Roan and Aiden were often found in cahoots with Jansis about all the things they would have to try to preserve through the death wave. Indra pointed out that the entrance to the Polis bunker was quite narrow so would not allow for the inclusion of larger animals, goats would be as big as they could accommodate. They were going to make sure they had plenty of rabbits, chickens and pigs with a few goats, and focus on storing furs, leather, seeds and things like that. They also discussed the possibility of storing some logs in deep caves that might be safe from the death wave. Aiden and Indra agreed to take the idea to the Commander.

“I know that the homes that Skaikru built when they first landed have been dismantled and are stored in one of the rooms” Roan said. “I don’t know how they did it, but it might be worth asking so that you could replicate it so new cabins could be quickly assembled. They were quite small and don’t allow for a fire in them but they could be assembled around a larger village fire, if there is anything left to burn.”

“Which is why we need to make sure we find a way to store as much wood as possible, and make sure we have plenty of saplings ready to start growing as soon as possible. We will undoubtedly have to adapt our ways to what will be our new reality” Indra intoned.

Those who were staying in Areasi announced that they were very happy with their new home and looked forward to the arrival of more of their friends from the ARC. Clarke and Bellamy just looked at each other in complete understanding. They were glad to be rid of the complainers.

They stayed for two nights before setting off at first light to drive back to Mt Orlan. Since the vehicles were not so laden they could move a little faster so they made good time. After three days Areasi radioed to say that they were close to the six riders who were north west of them but heading in their direction. Since they were close to the coalition borders they decided to wait for the riders to catch them up.

“We must take steps to protect ourselves in case the previous meeting was a set up and it is a trap” Indra said.

Clarke laughed as she threw a gun to all of Skaikru who knew how to use one. “Just what I was thinking, Indra” she said. “Bell, Monty, Miller, Dieter, Harper, and Echo; you six hide in the back of the trucks sniper style, agree targets, one each.” She concealed her own gun and made sure to strap on her sword and have knives at hand. The others did the same.

“That sword looks a little unusual, Wanheda” Indra said.

“Yes, I had the smith at Ton DC make it especially for me. He melted down some of the guns that were in the mountain. He also made a few others that he assured me he would be able to trade for a handsome reward once someone got to know what they’re like. They’re very light and very strong. I find a standard sword far too heavy for me. Should we engage in some sword play while waiting for our new people? It won’t look so obvious with us having our swords out if we do that.”

“Good idea, Wanheda. If you are unpracticed, perhaps you should practice with the Prince in the first instance” Aiden said.

Clarke almost smirked at Roan. He was good, and had the advantage of his metal arm so it would not be easy. The fight would be a surprise for anyone who thought that Roan was now a pushover. She went and got her first aid kit ready “Just in case since we don’t have our practice swords with us” Clarke said.

It was hard for Clarke. Roan’s sword was heavy and she felt the blows against her own sword vibrate through her arm. But Roan was surprised too. Clarke was quick and he thought that his much bigger sword would have snapped hers, but it held. The fight was stopped when Clarke’s sword slid off of Roan’s metal arm to nick his shoulder. Due to the sharpness of the blade the cut was deep and required stitches.

While Clarke was stitching up Roan, Indra and Aiden were examining Clarke’s blade. They both agreed to visit the smith in Ton DC as soon as possible to try to acquire their own swords made with the same metal.

Octavia was goading Lincoln into fighting with her. Lincoln suggested that they would both improve if they practiced more with other people, but he would indulge her this time since it was primarily for show.

“We see them through the scopes” Bellamy said from the truck. “Keep duelling.”

Lincoln and Octavia got to go through a few moves: Lincoln focussed more in showing Octavia how to swing full 360 degrees without losing her balance. Indra and Aiden were pretending to line up when it was clear they could see the riders. All six had their swords at the ready, despite Roan having a cut stitched.

The riders pulled up beside them and dismounted. “Woah, don’t let us stop you practicing” Cole said. “Will we have to learn how to fight with swords?”

“Not if you don’t want to” Clarke said. “Were we easy to find?”

“We camped on that hill over there and when we were sure it was your dust cloud we set off to intercept. There’s not as many as we thought there’d be and you lost one of your trucks” Cole pointed out.

“The others are here, somewhere, and we left one of the trucks at Areasi. Are you sure you want to join us in Mt Orlan?” Clarke asked. “I only ask again because you’ve had time to think and you might not like the idea of being limited to where you can go without making prior arrangements with the territory’s leader given that you’ve had complete freedom for your whole lives; and you might not like being led by a young man and even younger woman; so we will completely understand if you decide the life with us is not the life for you. And to be honest, you might find it hard to adjust to living with a few hundred other people.”

Cole nodded to one of the other men, James, Clarke thinks, “I had the same worry, m’am, and I wondered if there would be any offence if we kept to a small group of people at first, you know, start with the ones we’ll work with and gradually increase our exposure. That time with you all when we first met was a bit frightening and there was only 50 or so. Juney felt the same, and I think we all did really.”

Clarke looked at the others and saw some shame faced nodding.

“Sure we can arrange that, but you’ll have to cope until we get there and sort your accommodations and where you’ll work. Do any of you have preferences?” Clarke asked.

“We can all do a bit of animal care, leather tanning and clothes making, trapping and cooking over an open fire. None of us have ever had the chance to try other things” Cole said.

“Can you read or write?” Clarke asked.

“Yeah, we can all do that. We have some books, a bit faded and worn, but we have them. Not much else, though, just what we’re carrying” Cole sounded a bit shame faced.

“Don’t worry, we’ll sort it out once we get there. Do you mind if someone looks to see what you have so we can work out what we need to give you so have the same as everyone else, and I have to say that we think of books as precious so we might ask if they can go in the library that people use. You will be able to, too, once you’re comfortable wandering around.”

“Yeah, you can look through” Cole said and it was clear he realised it was also a test.

“Harper, Monty! You two love birds get yourselves decent, if you’re not already, and come out and help James and Juney go through their stuff so you know what they’ll need. It’ll be your responsibility to make sure they get it. “Bell, Echo! I know you two are done since I saw you sneak off ages ago, you come and do the same with Cole and Marysue” Clarke hoped she got the name right “and Deiter and Miller, I also know you snuck off to avoid the sword practice some come out and help the other two.”

Playing their parts the other six came out and went to look through the belongings of the riders. Bellamy was in raptures over the books, three of them. He had to be reminded that he was to work out what they needed to live in the bunker and have the same as everyone else.

They were all sat around a fire while they talked about what they discovered. They all needed some indoor footwear “no point in wearing out good boots walking around indoors” Bellamy said. Their clothing and bedding was adequate, but they would need to be shown how to access the bathroom facilities “it took a bit of time for me to adjust, but it is nice to have hot running water whenever I want it” Roan put in.

“So you haven’t been with them long, then either?” Cole asked looking at Roan.

“No, Echo and I are quite new, but there are some newer ones. I was kidnapped and Wanheda wouldn’t let me go” Roan stirred.

“I said you could go any time you wanted after you were healed but I hoped you would stay” Clarke huffed. “I didn’t know that it was only our showers that kept you with us.”

“And the riveting, charming company” Roan added.

“Would you mind if your horses were kept with ours? No one else will ride them without your approval, but Lincoln” and Lincoln nodded an acknowledgment “is training two of our youngsters to look after them. If one or two of you wanted to do that either part time, or full time, I’m sure it could be arranged?” Lincoln nodded in agreement. “Lincoln is not technically one of us, but he is bonded with Octavia so spends more time with us than not so I’m afraid we have come to think of him as one of us. Aiden and Indra are part of the coalition and are just with us on this journey for fact finding and meeting face to face the people they talk to over the radio.”

There were some puzzled looks and on being asked what they were puzzled about, it seems they wanted to know what ‘Wanheda’ means, what is a radio and how did it work, and more about the coalition. It was a long evening of story telling that kept everyone enthralled, even those who already knew the story of the people who fell from the sky. 

Cole told them the story of his people “there was over 200 of us at one point. I don’t remember many more than about 50. The rest died out due to sickness last summer. We lost one more earlier in winter. At least it meant that we all had our own horse. To be honest, two of them are getting on a bit and won’t last long and will make a good stew and some chaps soon. Once we get to your place it might be best to do it sooner rather than later to save resources.”

“Actually” Lincoln interrupted, “I think we should do it here and now so we can stretch and dry the hides and leave the guts for any passing predators. We can put the four younger ones in one truck and the two carcasses in the other. Everyone can ride in the rovers. We can set off at first light and be back at the mountain tomorrow if we do that. Bellamy can get his mom on sorting the accommodations and shoes for when we arrive and you can settle for the night then start the hard work of sorting futures the following morning after a good night’s sleep.”

Everyone looked to Cole for his decision. He gave a brief nod to Lincoln who got up and went straight to one of the horses and pulled out his knife. Crooning to the horse and stroking along the nose and around the ears. He pulled it away from the other horses then quickly slashed his throat, holding it as it fell to the ground. Echo went to clean and dress the horse while Lincoln went to do the same to the other elderly horse. This time Indra went to do the cleaning and dressing. Once the innards had been removed, Roan, Clarke and Octavia placed them on the back of one of the trucks that Clarke and Roan then drove to leave the animal remains away from their camp site so that any predators would be attracted to the stronger odour.

While they were away, Clarke took the opportunity to hide the guns under the seats in the cab.

Back at the camp site, the dead horses were prepared for the butcher and placed in the back of the truck where the innards had been. The skins were stretched close to the fire to speed up the drying. Roan said that they should keep watch just in case of animals. He told Bellamy and Echo to take the first; to wake Indra and Miller at eleven; who should wake him and Clarke at one; who would wake Octavia and Lincoln at three; to wake Deiter and Aiden at five. Everyone seemed a little nonplussed at Roan taking charge about something, but Clarke was pleased that he was starting to step back into his natural role as leader. Clarke passed her gun to Bellamy and went to settle down for some sleep.

Clarke and Roan stepped away from the camp when it was their turn to watch. They wanted to talk without the risk of being over heard and since sound travels in the dead of night, they had to talk quietly.

“Why did you really want to set watch?” Clarke asked.

“Same reason Lincoln wanted to slaughter the horses there and then: we’re not sure if they’re trust worthy. They seem to be, but we’re being safe until we’re back on home turf. I’ll suggest that Deiter and Indra drive the truck with the carcasses accompanied by a rover with two of the new people with Harper and Monty driving and go as fast as they can back to Mt Orlan. The truck with the horses will need to go slower and we’ll need to take the back drop off the other truck to use as a ramp to get the horses up. I suggest Lincoln stay with the horses with either Octavia or Echo if none of the riders want to be there. That truck should have a rover in front and one behind each with two of the riders. There’s room in the rovers for everyone’s things” Roan offered.

“Okay” Clarke agreed. “You know that’s one of your next challenges: horse riding. You’ll have to work out how you can operate the reins with your new arm and hand so you can wield your weapon if necessary, unless you think your new arm is good enough to use instead?”

“I prefer to work out how to use the reins with it. I’ll talk to Lincoln about it. He seems to have a good insight about a lot of things. You know if you hadn’t kidnapped me I don’t think I would ever have got to know Lincoln and now I regard him as a friend.”

“Yeah, life’s funny like that. You can find friends, good friends, in the most unlikely of situations” Clarke thought about how her and Roan’s friendship in the previous life started with Roan kidnapping her, irony at its best. “How are the rest of your fellow Azgedans settling in? I’ve not heard anything about them, good or bad.”

“There is one, Bogdov, who I think we might have problems with. He accepts being a prisoner of war and having to work for the enemy, but doesn’t understand why they are not treated like prisoners of war. Gordon tried to tell him that you won’t kill people unless you have to so you want to make sure that they are well enough to be returned to Nia after their two years’ of servitude. Bogdov has also asked why I have not yet ended my own life rather than live like a half man.”

At that Clarke snorted a little. “His definition of what makes a man is vastly different to mine. Phillip Rhodes has no penis but I still think of him as a man. Actually, I think of him as more of a man, a much better man than I did before the acid fog: then he was, and I quote Octavia, or maybe Raven, I don’t remember, but one of them called him an asshole extraordinaire, and I agreed with them. I wish it hadn’t taken such a loss to make him a man rather than an angry grown up boy. Ben is going to be devastated when he does eventually succumb to his injuries; unless Wanheda can pull off another miracle, that is.”

Roan smiled thinking of how Clarke was growing into her title of Wanheda rather than hating it as he thought she did at first. He wished he fully believed Clarke about the definition of manliness, but at the back of his mind flow the words of Bogdov. He wouldn’t take his own life: that is, Roan believes, the coward’s way. As long as he could give for his people, and the composition of his people was changing, then Roan would deem it a duty and privilege to continue to live, grow and give.

Cole said that Thatcher should stay with the horses so they agreed to have two people with the horses at all times, allowing for some trade off. If it looked like the horses were getting too spooked, then the two lightest riders could ride and lead them for a while instead of them being in the truck. Once they were worn out they might be more amenable to riding in the back of the truck.

As it turned out the horses were perfectly content to have someone with them riding in the back of the truck. It meant they reached Mt Orlan just after sunset before the batteries ran out of power.

The six new people settled quite quickly into life in Mt Orlan. Marysue worked with Marta and Megan with looking after the various smaller animals and their produce. Thatcher worked with Lincoln, Octavia, Charlotte and Ben in looking after the horses. Cole turned his hand to wood work, making all sorts of toys, musical instruments, clogs, chess and draughts sets. He spent a lot of time with Marietta working out things to make that would keep people happy when they were enclosed. It was Lincoln who first said that he thought that they would become a couple. It was a pity that no offspring could come from it since Marrietta was too old, but perhaps Clarke could talk them into allowing Cole to be a donor later down the line.

James and Juney announced that Juney was pregnant so she was given light duties of knitting and weaving while James worked in the kitchen as the primary meat butcher. Denver didn’t know what he wanted to do except he wanted to stay away from the horses so Raven took him as an apprentice mechanic. She said he was good when he was told exactly what to do, very similar in ability and usefulness as Josh (originally from the mountain), so she would keep him too.

The 15 Azgedans spent most of their time chopping down trees and helping to haul the logs into the bunker. They, as yet, didn’t know why they were doing that but they were reasonably content to do the physical work, be given sufficient food, time to train and a reasonably comfortable bed to sleep in. At no point did it occur to them to try to escape once they were told that their queen was okay with them working for two years. Gordon was the only one who knew the full truth and he was working on getting them to accept that they might never go back to Azgeda since being taken prisoner would be seen as shameful. It was possible that the other 186 had already been branded as traitors. It would take time but he thought that all of them, except perhaps Bogdov, would not want to leave even if Praimfaya were not coming for them.

It was only two days after her return from Areasi that Marta and Megan came to Clarke to say that they would like to be separated if it was possible. Clarke took them to the med centre and introduced them to Jackson and Maya. Jackson and Maya, Clarke informed them, would be carrying out a number of tests, some of which were very simple, and when they had the results they would let Clarke know so that all of them could explain what would happen, what could happen, and answer any questions they had.

The first round of sensitivity tests would be repeated the following day to check the results. If there was any difference they would be repeated again. Marta asked why that would happen and it was Maya who explained that it was possible that the position of holding their arms would cause some nerves to ‘go to sleep’ so the next lot of tests would be carried out after the arms had been held in a different position for a while to make sure that any nerve failure was not temporary. 

Maya did all the scans so that they could see exactly where and what the twins were sharing. It turned out that it was almost as simple as Clarke thought it was except for the brachial artery that went from one twin’s shoulder down to the other twin’s arm and hand. Since this happened for both of them, it was a simple matter of slicing and quickly patching the arteries. Clarke and Jackson agreed that they would not need a skin graft, just stitches since there wasn’t a lot of muscle tone in those arms, and after care to stretch the skin as they built up their muscles.

The meeting with Marta and Megan started with Jackson trying to explain everything in detail. Clarke soon put a stop to that and said that they could do it and unless something completely unexpected happened they would be left with nothing but a scar that would fade slightly, to show where they were joined. Clarke didn’t say that one of the nerves was twisted for Megan which was why she had limited use of her hand and they thought they would be able to make some improvements. She thought it was better for them to have a nice surprise rather than be disappointed if it didn’t happen.

The date for the operation was set.

Bellamy, Clarke heard, invited Marta and Megan to accompany him to visit the site of the drop ship so they could see where they first arrived to earth. Octavia bounced into Clarke’s room dragging Raven with her to tell Clarke, and Maya who was there with Clarke, that when they returned all three were snuggling together and she knows that Bellamy took some blankets with him to the ship which she bet were not only used for a pic-nic.

“We need Echo in here, too” Maya declared. “We need to talk about lots of stuff and if necessary get Costia on the radio.”

“What? Why do we need Costia on the radio to talk about Bellamy and the twins?” Octavia asked.

“We don’t, but we need to catch up with everything that is happening and check that we’re still on the right path. The potential war with Azgeda is possibly a big obstacle in our path and we need all the insight we can get: unless you want to confess to the rather attractive Prince?” Maya snarked.

“I’ll get Echo and then if necessary Clarke can radio and ask to speak to Costia, using some medical excuse” Octavia groused then went to find Echo.

A little while later Octavia came into Clarke’s room with Echo and they both had grins on their faces.

“What gives?” Raven asked.

“Instead of gossiping and wondering, I decided to go straight to the people concerned and asked Marta and Megan what happened on their date” Echo was smug.

“Aaand?” pushed Maya.

“They had sex, the three of them and they’re now wondering if they should have the operation because they might have to wait a while to do it again, and even if they didn’t, would feel as good?”

“Yeah! Three cheers for Lincoln, matchmaker par excellence!”

“Oh, yeah, I forgot” Octavia turned a little sheepish. “Lincoln thinks that Raven might find her other half amongst the 15 Azgedan warriors, but he wouldn’t say which one! He said that would ruin all the fun since they’re there and no special effort had to go into getting them together. He suggested that we find an excuse for Raven to go and meet them all and see what happens.”

“Okay, let’s get all the gossip out of the way before we get to the really tough stuff” Clarke agreed. “Why don’t we all go in to one of their usual training times? Octavia and I can say we’re starting to train Maya and Raven since they have no combat practice and Echo can hang around testing the waters with the others, see if any show any interest, put in a good word about her genius brain.”

“Good plan” Echo said. “I know they all think you people from the sky are weaklings so don’t be surprised if there’s a lot of, heckling I think is the word, from the warriors.”

“That’s alright” Raven insisted. “I’ll just have to wow them with my brains as well as my stellar looks. It could be fun trying some of them out. I suppose that means there’s no point in getting Kyle down here.”

“Actually, we still need an Engineer to go to Polis and one to remain here so you don’t have full responsibility for everything. If you want, Sinclair can stay here and we can send Kyle to Polis, although I will need to check the Engineer situation in Areasi” Clarke said. “I’ll need to arrange a call with Areasi, Jaha and Lexa. We should have a list of all our people, including the Arkers and where they will be. I’ll tell Jaha to arrange all the essential personnel to come down with the next shuttle. We need all the essentials in place ASAP the rest are not so important so if things happen earlier than we want we can adapt” Clarke was the consummate leader.

“Okay, tomorrow Clarke calls Areasi to ask if they have an Engineer, if not, do they think they should have one during Praimfaya; next she calls Jaha to ask for the essential people to come down ASAP; then she calls the Commander to ask for a meeting; then Clarke talks to Marta and Megan to talk them into having the operation, Clarke and I then finalise the list of where us and Arkers will be and inform those going elsewhere to prepare to move there soon” Raven said. “Now that’s agreed, let’s get back to the good stuff. Who does Lincoln think we should set up for Clarke and for Echo?”

Echo and Clarke snorted while Maya looked puzzled.

“I thought everyone knew that it’s Roan for Clarke. The betting is on when they get together, not if. The current favourite for Echo is Anya. Anya and Roan were neck and neck for Clarke until Anya was heard to say that she likes a partner she can look in the eye with an admiring look at Echo. My Jasper is running the pool. I am so looking forward to the extra deserts that we’re going to rake in. I will end up so fed up with cake, still, my Jasper could do with putting on a few pounds, more of him for me to cuddle. His hips are a bit too bony for me to enjoy bouncing on them too much” Maya said nonchalantly as the others wondered why they hadn’t included Maya in their drunken discussion of the possibles and why she would share that information about Jasper with them.

“Hey, I could persuade Anya to give me a go despite my lack of height!” Clarke decided to feel insulted. “Anyway, I’ve decided not to get too involved with anyone until everything that can be done has been done. When I can relax, then I’ll look for my other half, until the doors are sealed, it’ll be sex just for relaxation only. I hope that doesn’t hurt the odds too much, Maya” Clarke said not at all apologetically.

“As long as you don’t have sex with Roan for relaxation in the meantime, we’re good” Maya shrugged. “What about you, Echo; you ever ride the Roan express?”

“No. I was interested once, previously, for a while, a short, very short while. He wouldn’t let me kill Clarke. No fun” Echo fake lamented.

“Now that attitude is pure Anya” Octavia said. “Tell her that you had this dream whereby Nia was dead and Roan was your king but he wouldn’t let you kill Clarke and kept ruining your fun, or maybe don’t mention it was Clarke, and she might jump you. No reason why all you single ladies couldn’t have a go on all the other single people. You could compare notes.”

“Thank you for that sage advice, but no” Clarke said. “I do not believe in kiss ‘n’ tell” she was prim.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now the tags are updated to include Bellamy\OFCs. No update for Raven yet. Clarke and Echo are some way away from having their tags updated - sorry.


	22. Things In Place

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the time for the death wave creeps closer, the gang put all the pieces in place so that they can relax when they seal the doors knowing that they did everything they could to save as many as the could.

Clarke fulfilled all the duties that Raven outlined for her. The conversation with Marta and Megan was awkward to begin but Clarke went straight to the point that Echo had said that there were one or two issues about the operation that they wanted to discuss with her privately before they went ahead. Marta and Megan were clearly grateful because they went in to far too much detail for Clarke’s personal comfort and asked how soon after the operation they would be able to have sex again. They seemed relieved when Clarke said as soon as they wanted to, provided it did not interfere with anyone else fulfilling their work duties. Clarke resolved to make sure Bellamy was not available to them for at least two days.

The Commander said that she welcomed the idea of a meeting and would be in TonDC and asked if Clarke could meet her there. Clarke mentioned the surgery she was performing and agreed to meet the day after. Costia and Nyko would observe the separation and help if they were needed.

Clarke’s discussion about where Jackson should be did not go as she had thought. Clarke thought that either she or Jackson should go to Polis. Jackson argued that he should go down to Areasi with Clarke staying in Mt Orlan. 

“There will be over 2,000 people there with no qualified doctor if I don’t go” he argued. If Clarke could make sure that a good radio line was set up then Nyko and Costia should be able to take care of all foreseeable medical needs in Polis. Clarke should take the Medical Doctorate exam if she had any doubt about her own capabilities, but Jackson was confident in Clarke’s ability to fly solo for a while.

“Just make sure you bring me back once it’s safe and your mom is down here” he asked.

The joint radio conversation with Jaha, Sinclair and Wick got them to agree that Wick would stay in the Polis bunker and Sinclair would go to Areasi. Clarke emphasised that once it was safe and that Abby as a doctor, and the Chancellor as a senior engineer, were safely at Areasi then Sinclair and Jackson were coming back to Mt Orlan. It was agreed that Wick would ensure that Kane and at least one other could pilot the shuttle. The only area of dissention was when Jaha said that Wells would be staying in Areasi since he saw no reason for an Ambassador. Clarke was pissed because she knew it was because Jaha knew Wells would want to stay with them.

Clarke and Raven could finalise the list of who would be where. The only difficulty was in separating Monty and Jasper, unless Clarke could convince Maya to go to Polis.

“Okay, that should be fine” Maya said to Clarke’s great surprise. “It will give my dad the opportunity to court Aurora without getting embarrassed when I catch them together. Damn, I will miss out on the cake; still it will be something to look forward to when I get out.” 

Clarke and Maya, aided by Roan and Echo, needed to blood type the Azgedans because they wanted, if possible, to have cross matched blood available for their operation on Marta and Megan. Luckily Jackson thought that one unit each would be sufficient because they were only able to get blood from two compatible donors. If they needed more they would use the O neg from the sky donors. The warriors were most upset when they were told that their blood would be going into the freaks, and even more upset when Clarke, backed up by Roan and Echo, said that if they used such words again to describe people they would be put on half rations for a week. “They are no more freaks than Ashton is for having red hair; and once upon a time that was seen as the mark of the devil” Clarke sneered at them.

Roan whispered in Clarke’s ear “Are you sure it’s not blonde hair or blue eyes that’s the mark of the devil because you sure seem to have his bite, sometimes”. Clarke merely raised a brow and shrugged in response.

The operation on Marta and Megan was a success. As soon as they were separated Clarke got to work ensuring the brachial artery was quickly patched and other blood vessels sealed properly, and then stitching Marta’s arm while Jackson took care of Megan. Jackson said that he was able to release some of the pressure on the previously twisted nerve and had hope that Megan would have more hand function than currently.

Once the operation was complete, the women were put in beds side by side with the rails between them kept down so that they could reach for each other as they came to. 

As soon as they were both awake they held hands, smiling at how far apart they were (three feet) and asked for Bellamy.

“Let me quickly do some sensitivity tests first to make sure that everything went as we planned and then I’ll call for him so you can tell him the good news yourselves, okay?” Clarke said knowing that the traces of the anaesthesia still in their system would interfere with any brain to mouth filter that they might usually have. They agreed.

Clarke wasted a few more minutes waiting for Costia, Nykko, Jackson and Maya to help and observe with the tests so that the results could be compared to the original tests. Because they weren’t there for the original tests, Maya took a little time to explain what was done and why to Costia and Nyko. As expected, Megan’s hand had more functionality and would be able to be used independently; it would just take time for the hand to know that it can respond to the brain’s instructions without assistance from another hand. Jackson said that he would write up a plan of exercises for them both to do to strengthen their arms and hands slowly. He re-emphasised that the build up had to be slow or they risked internal damage. He wanted to see them every day for a week, and then every week until he released them.

“Now that you have the good news, I’m going to find Bellamy for you” Clarke said and left the sisters holding hands and grinning at each other.

Clarke didn’t have to go far to find Bellamy: he was waiting outside the door.

“I’ll let them tell you how it went” Clarke said, “but I will say that the exercises to build up their strength should be done slowly. Make sure you are aware of that. Also, you might want to make sure that it becomes official that they will stay here since I am assuming that you have made them want to. Don’t tell me if I am wrong, at least not until I’m about to set off for my meeting with the Commander tomorrow. Catch you later.”

Bellamy caught Clarke that evening to tell her that it was official that Marta and Megan wished to pledge their loyalty to Skaikru.

The meeting with the Commander and Aiden went pretty much as Clarke thought it would. They were pleased that the people with the appropriate tech skills were set for each of the bunkers. The clans were busy drawing up lists of their people to go to the different bunkers, and planning on how to get them there to avoid panic from those not included. Unfortunately Luna did not believe that there was another praimfaya coming and said that she would have no part in selecting a mere 200 of her people to save even if it were true. Luna left and returned to her people.

Clarke should not have been surprised. She expected that one day a rag-tag group from Floukru would turn up on their door step and she would have to decide whether or not to try to save them using black blood marrow.

Aiden said that he agreed with Jansis that Areasi would need some labourers to help bring soil into the bunker and proposed that ten warriors from Shallow Valley leave almost straight away; each riding one horse and leading another, all chosen from different bloodlines, to the bunker and asked if Octavia and Lincoln could lead them. Clarke didn’t think that they would want to ride almost non stop for nearly two weeks, and that didn’t include the return journey. She thought about the motor bikes and realised that they would take a lot of time from the journey and agreed.

“Your warriors can set off as soon as they’re ready. They should head west. Octavia and Lincoln can meet them on motor bikes: let me draw one for you so you can pass it along so they don’t get surprised when they see them. They’re a bit noisy, too, like the rovers” and Clarke got up to ask for some paper and charcoal. 

“Each clan is sending ten warriors to Areasi but will not take more horses, only Plains Riders will do that. Broadleaf are the next clan to send their warriors. They will arrive with alligator skins and many pelts. They will also take cotton plants. Could you help us get them there?” Aiden asked.

Clarke thought about the timings. The shuttle wouldn’t come down until Wick was sure that Kane and someone else could fly it so she easily had a week, probably ten days. If necessary she could put the ARC off for a day or two. Clarke pulled up her tablet and pointed to a spot just past the border of Glowing Forest with the outside zone and told Aiden to arrange for the warriors to meet the trucks there.

“Will they and their goods will be able to get there for seven days’ time? Clarke asked.

“No, make it eight” Aiden said. “When the room is ready for other animals, each clan will send their ten warriors and some goods and livestock. In the meantime the horses can be outside in a corral until they need to go inside. I shall accompany the Rock Line warriors and remain at Areasi until it is time to return to Polis at the end of praimfaya. I will be there to ensure that our people help prepare for the time when we must all rely on each other. The Commander has given me leave to barter with you for two of your radios so that I may be in contact at all times.”

“Okay, I’ll barter with you, but you do know that the radio at Areasi is so much more powerful than the portable ones that I can give you and I’m sure that they would agree to you using it whenever you needed to?” Clarke said.

“Thank you for your honesty and I will avail myself of their radio when I need to but would still wish to have two radios for when travelling. One will be for me and the other for my assistant who is staying in Polis” Aiden sounded so grown up and a quick glance to the Commander showed nothing but pride in her protégé.

Clarke thought about what she wanted. “One beehive for each radio” Clarke suggested.

“One beehive for the two radios” Aiden countered.

“One beehive for one radio and one book for the other. It can be any book, just a book” Clarke counteroffered.

Aiden smiled and offered his hand “Agreed”.

“I’ll get Raven or Monty to show you how to tune them to connect to the radio you want. They could be marked so it will be easier to connect with Mt Orlan, Areasi, the Commander and to the second, if you wish, but that will be another book” Clarke suggested.

“You drive a hard bargain, Wanheda, but I agree to your extortionate demands” Aiden laughed.

Given that some of Skaikru would be at the mercy of the vastly numerically superior grounders, Clarke had asked that nine people from each clan stay in Mt Orlan as insurance for the safety of her people. She asked that they be orphans with one single adult as guardian and a fairly even split between the genders. The adult should be able to educate all the children in the mountain about the history of their clan and be skilled in one other area that will be of benefit to people post praimfaya; one of which needed to be a beekeeper who would be happy to pass on their skill to a member of Skaikru. Since this saved a further 90 of her people (99 if Luna had joined them), the Commander agreed. The Commander wanted each clan’s eight orphans and guardian to be sent to Mt Orlan as soon as possible so that they were in their place before any infighting among the people. Clarke agreed to them arriving after a further ten days so that Bellamy would have plenty of time to organise their accommodations. Clarke wanted to mix the children by age so they, hopefully, became friends with the children from the other clans.

“The scientists of Areasi have said that they can store the sperm of a horse without the horse, are you able to do that?” Aiden asked.

“In theory, yes, but we will have a power outage of up to three days when the death wave first hits and will have to live off emergency power only so it is possible that the frozen supplies will be lost in that time” Clarke explained, not saying that as long as the container stayed closed there should not be any damage in that time, but that she wanted to make sure that she had some stallions as well as mares, just in case.

“Never mind. Areasi are also going to store the semen of some bulls and save some pregnant cows so that they can have milk and fresh meat, keep the yearlings and butcher the parents” Aiden was matter of fact. Clarke thought that would be a good idea and wondered if they would have enough space to do that and hopefully keep one bullock of every generation, or barter for some semen from Areasi. She would speak to her farm people.

“The Blue Cliffs warriors will attend with barrels of fish for the metal river that the people of Areasi are building. Because the water will come from the lakes and rivers that the fish usually swim in it is hoped that they will take to their new home. If you are not able to help transport them they will be taken using horse drawn carts” Aiden said. I shall radio when we know the timing of their arrival”.

“Indra has planned which people get what rooms and set out rooms to be used by various animals. She hopes that Polis can have chickens, rabbits, pigs, goats and sheep. She is arranging for the acquisition of dried foods, seeds, pelts, and all sorts of household goods, and has decided that the metal tables and chairs will, where possible be replaced with wooden ones to make our people feel more comfortable” the Commander said which garnered approval from Clarke. Replacing the metal with wood was not something she had thought of. “We are also planning on having a garden for medicinal plants and hope that the light can be arranged to allow them to grow.” Clarke nodded.

“We cannot spare a doctor to go to Polis” Clarke said. “Our medic, Maya, can do basic procedures and knows how all the machinery in the medical centre works and she will be there to assist your healers.”

“Thank you. If you are agreeable, I shall ask Nyko and Costia to spend some more time with Maya so that they may learn together. May I also ask that some of your people for the Polis bunker visit to make sure all is in order so that there is time to put things right before praimfaya?” the Commander asked and Clarke agreed.

“Although Raven will not be the engineer in Polis, she can do the assessment and make sure the work is set in hand, and give notes to Kyle Wick as soon as he comes down so that he is aware of any issues she has raised.” The date for the Polis visit was agreed.

The Commander then asked if it was possible for the two families from each clan to move to the small Azgedan bunker, “We call it the Camp David bunker” Clarke interrupted since she didn’t want it getting out that they were using a bunker on Azgedan lands. The Commander understood and agreed with the inference so nodded and carried on asking if they could be temporarily housed on Mt Orlan so that they had some time to adjust to being with the other people before they were actually locked up together, so to speak. “Those staying in the TonDC bunker will be doing that at a camp just outside the village, and those from your people staying there might want to visit so that everyone knows who everyone is.” 

Clarke agreed that it could be arranged and asked about the transport of the people, and the arrival of the goods that were being stored there.

“The people will make their own way to the camp or to Mt Orlan. The goods will begin to arrive some time after. The difficulty will be in making sure that all the people and all the goods are safe in the bunker and that it is sealed and hidden before the Azgedans know about it. But that is a problem for later.

“Caliban is arranging for many logs to be hidden deep in caves that may be protected from praimfaya. We will also try to secure some other goods if bends are too difficult to carry large logs. He will be working with a nominee from Blue Cliffs and one from rock line to investigate possible deep caves that may be safe so that more supplies can be retrieved once it is safe to do so. All three have said that they do not wish to live in the bunkers so they have no need to worry about getting to their future home before the wave hits, even if they should be offered places but they will need a way to make sure the locations of the caves is known.”

Clarke offered to have one of her people accompany Caliban so that they could mark the location of all the caves discovered and make sure that the information is also sent to Polis and the other two small bunkers.

The Commander then changed the topic of conversation, taking Clarke a little by surprise: “Costia tells me that the plan with the Delphikru twins has paid off. Will you ask for payment from the Village Chief to take them off his hands?” the Commander asked.

“No. If he offers I’ll talk to them about it and leave it up to them but they’ve proved themselves very useful to us, and they keep Bellamy happy so it’s a win win for us to have them” Clarke said. “We’re now waiting to see if Lincoln’s predictions for Raven come to pass.”

“Since it is I who asked who asked for their presence, I shall send a messenger via the twins to inform their father of their decision. The messenger can act as a go between if necessary” the Commander insisted and Clarke merely nodded her head in acknowledgment.

Octavia and Lincoln had fun on the motor bikes, both saying they were not quite as good as horses but agreed that for the speed it was better to meet the Shallow Valley warriors on the bikes rather than horses. Raven told them that depending on their speed, the batteries should allow them to ride for about two to three hours after sunset and if they took a tablet linked to the drone’s view they should still be fine to plot a course and stick to it for a while in the dark. Lincoln was fascinated by the technology, but Octavia just took it in her stride and merely wished to confirm with Areasi that the tablet was linked. They checked that Marta and Megan, together with Thatcher, Charlotte and Ben, were able to take care of all the horses in their absence, which they knew would be prolonged, and off they went with a happy wave.

Bellamy transferred responsibility for accommodations and housekeeping to Bree who asked to do it because it frustrated her no end to see how disorganised it was. Bree was given a list of the known permanent residents, marked to show who would be elsewhere during praimfaya, and the orphans and guardians who would be living there temporarily. She was told that it would be part of her duties to arrange temporary housing for those coming down in the shuttles before they could all be moved to Areasi as well as where everyone would stay for the days that they lost power immediately after the death wave. Bree took on challenge happily. A few people were unhappy at being asked to move rooms, but they usually did so with nothing more than a little grumbling. Some took the opportunity to move back outside while they still could. It made it easier to find room for the transient visitors from the ARC.

Before the two trucks set off to meet the warriors from Broadleaf clan, Luna arrived with nearly two dozen of her people. They were all sick. Clarke knew what it was. It was earlier than she expected, but there were more alive than when they reached Arkadia in the previous life.

“The Commander told me that you knew this would happen. I didn’t want to have to choose 200 of my people to survive; and as a result I’m asking if you can save 20 of us” Luna said.

Jackson looked over them all and shook his head. Clarke took Luna to the side and said that there was only one chance that any of them had, and she didn’t think it would work on the worst of them, but the only way to save any of them was if they were given a bone marrow transfusion from a black blood and she would only do that with their agreement, or the agreement of the guardian on children, but they would not be able to get enough black blood marrow to save more than ten or twelve if all their available black bloods were willing and able to donate.

Luna asked how that would work.

“Basically Becca Franco, your first Commander made the black blood serum to counteract the damage of radiation. We have some black bloods here; some were made due to health reasons. I can take up to two doses of marrow from each person, and Jackson would have to take it from me, so we can make those who are sick black blooded. I would only want to do it to the least sick because it takes some time for it to work on the body and all the time the radiation would be making the body sicker, so the less sick a person is, the better the chance of it working. You will get better on your own.”

Luna thought for a moment then said she needed to speak to her people to find out if they were willing to become nightbleeders. There was no point in taking the marrow from others if her people would not receive it.

While Luna was talking to her people, Clarke was calling all the black bloods except Phillip who was in no physical condition to donate, and Bellamy who was leaving with one of the trucks the next day and needed to be strong for that journey, although it was possible for someone else to be given the assignment to drive, and Marta and Megan would welcome the opportunity to coddle Bellamy for a day or two, although he probably wouldn’t be getting much rest!

Luna said that only one of the adults and three of the children would take the treatment. Beppi and Aurora both said that they should be the ones to donate since they had not yet donated marrow. Given that Aurora’s marrow was one generation down further than Beppi’s, Clarke gave most of the two doses from Aurora to the single adult, and split the balance from Aurora with Beppi’s two doses between the three small children, two of whom were the least sick.

Jackson was astounded as the children started to show signs of improvement and Luna and Quill stopped deteriorating. The others faded quite quickly. Within three days they were all dead and the children who took the marrow were almost completely well. It was another two days before Luna and Quill were well enough to resume their lives. They wanted a pyre built for their dead. The Azgedans helped.

Clarke asked Luna if she wished to remain with them in Mt Orlan, at least until after praimfaya. “If the Commander agrees, I shall ask her if you could be designated as the person in charge of all those not aligned with us permanently” Clarke said. “I would still want everyone to follow our rules whilst here, though, but they will need someone who has the seniority to settle disputes between them, or to act as a liaison with us when necessary.”

“That should be acceptable” Luna agreed. “This way we don’t disrupt the balance at any of the other bunkers, and you’re right about some of them needing someone other than Roan or Echo to be their liaison.”

“Come on, then, you can help with the fishing, I’ll get Jonus to show you what we’ve done and what we want to with our indoor river and then you and Jonus can decide on the best way to do it. And if you can make sure we have more dried or smoked fish to store, the better” Clarke said, not letting on that once the doors were sealed she would want Luna to help some of her people train.

David Miller led a group of Skaikru to Polis. Sinclair rather than Raven substituted for Wick; Monty went as the Computer expert (something that still amazed his parents); Maya went to look over the Med Bay; and the senior Greens went to look over the farm.

The only issues raised were those surrounding the possibility (probability, Sinclair thought) of the entrance being blocked by the collapse of the surrounding buildings, and the likelihood of not being able to receive or send any radio communications. 

They knew that there would definitely be no radio signals in the immediate aftermath of praimfaya, but it was possible that none would be able to get through to Polis even after the atmospheric dust settled unless they found a way to attach an antenna that would be safe from building collapses. Monty and Sinclair said that they would take the issue back to Mt Orlan to see if they could come up with a solution that they could put in place before it got too dangerous. 

The possibility of the seal being broken by falling debris was relatively easy to take care of: they just had to make sure that the bunker was sealed a few hours before radiation levels became too dangerous so that another protective seal could be put over the entrance that would need to be taken down after the five years. Mt Orlan, and the other two smaller bunkers, would have the means to clear any debris from the entrance so that they would be able to get out, but in any case they would make sure to bring items that could be used to make some explosives to try to blow a path through the debris if necessary as a last resort.

David said that he was impressed with the amount of things that had already been placed in the bunker – mountains of medium sized logs, piles of fur and leather, wooden tables replacing the metal ones that had been dismantled and stacked in the canteen, sacks of seeds, a room of hens, and a room full of soil that would be home to rabbits.

“We have learned much from Wanheda” Indra intoned and then had to explain who Wanheda was to the sky people. Luckily she just said “it is a title of respect and honour that we have given to your leader, Clarke” rather than explain that it was because she killed all of Maya’s people.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If Marta and Megan's father insists that he should give a recompense to Mt Orlan for taking the twins off his hands I wondering about what it should be. My first thought is that Clarke and Bellamy should tell him where to go, my second is that should ask for potted saplings so that they could plant their own woodland after the five years. Your thoughts?


	23. Spring Has Sprung

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Spring is in the air and everyone gears up to make as much progress as they can. Some new people join Mt Orlan, but are not sure they made the right decision.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A couple of points about this chapter, I am assuming that any bunker that has a farm will need time to get up to full production hence lots of unexpected new arrivals would need to take some provisions; and I don't remember when the black rain started in canon, but it comes in this chapter so i hope it isn't too far out.

The distinct signs of spring brought joy but worry. To those who knew what was coming, it marked the last season before the death wave hit. They were all determined to enjoy their freedom while they could. A separate camp was set up for the people who would be moving to the Camp David bunker and the people from the various clans arrived carrying a note with the insignia of the Commander and a gift to the Skaikru. 

The families from Shallow Valley brought various plants that only grew in the warmer climes: peaches, coconuts, bananas and orchids.

One family from Broadleaf also brought plants: cotton and orange. The other family brought alligator skins.

Both families from Sankru brought glass bottles, jars and bowls. It was the trade of one of the couples and Clarke asked if they would be able to teach someone in Skaikru how to make it. The couple said that they would try to teach the Skaikru in the bunker and if they could not they would teach someone after praimfaya. Clarke immediately resolved to speak to all of their people going to Camp David to discover if any of them would be interested in learning how to make glass. Learning what the primary ingredients of glass were, Clarke made sure that there would be plenty available.

The Delfikru families brought books, including some with blank pages and some charcoal sticks.

Both families from Trishanakru brought a pig, both female and both pregnant. Charlotte and Ben couldn’t wait for the babies to be born, an attitude that Clarke knew was going to get them hurt when they realised they would eventually be killed.

One family from Glowing Forrest brought a bee hive and the other brought their horse and cart saying that Skaikru were welcome to the strong cart horse which could also pull a plough. Clarke wondered if they could breed it with one of their other horses to get a stronger strain. She would have to speak to those who knew about such things, in the meantime, she thanked them for their thoughtful and useful gifts.

The two families from Boudolankru brought rabbits and chickens. They both said that they were of no use to them now so wanted to offer them as gifts. Clarke suggested that they use half of them to dry and take into the bunker with them, or to eat now. They agreed that they would eat some now and dry some but leave some with Skaikru.

Both families from the Lake People brought lots and lots of dried fish carried in baskets of woven reeds. Both the fish and the baskets were gratefully received.

Trikru each brought a deer. Clarke had no idea how they were able to catch and keep the deer calm as they brought them to Mt Orlan. Clarke thanked them profusely and had Zoe lead them to the other deer they had. They would need more people to help look after the animals.

Clarke thought that the gifts indicated that the people might think that Mt Orlan would be supporting them while they stayed at the camp on their mountain but that proved not to be the case. Each day one or two hunters went out to catch more meat, and some went to hunt for early vegetables. The skins were dried and packed away and any foods not eaten were given to the people of the mountain. It meant that the kitchen people were able to freeze some food to be available quickly if they underestimate how much to cook, and offer anything they had in excess (like vegetables that, for some strange reason, were not popular with the children). It meant that everyone felt they were giving and taking.

The next thing to happen that put a spring in everyone’s step was the discovery of two more bunkers. The only problem was that they were in Europe and the few people in them would only accept others if they too were all picked up and taken to the US once it was safe to do so, and they could bring some food to last until their farms were producing at full capacity. A quick three way radio call with Jaha and Areasi resulting in the agreement that the shuttle would leave for Europe carrying Abby as a passenger who would take the treated necessary bone marrow to inject the bunker occupants, within 24 hours. It was necessary for that trip to happen as soon as possible because the radiation was higher in Europe due to the proximity of the death wave. Kyle said that Kane would pilot but he would be co-pilot just to be safe. It would mean that there would be 270 more spaces available in Areasi.

Areasi said that as long as they thought that they would still have sufficient manpower to run the bunker they would be happy to house more from the coalition or animals. It took a radio call to the Commander for her to agree that she would arrange for 200 more people, and the equivalent of 70 people in animals. Aiden was advised to make the necessary arrangements in Areasi while the Commander would advise the clans about the extra 20 people they could each save. Because more of her people were being saved, the Commander asked if the shuttle (and she stumbled over the strange word) would be able to make a quick stop in TonDC so that they could provide some dried food for the people. Clarke radioed the ARC and that was agreed. She sent some of the dried fish that they had been gifted by the Lake people. It would be enough to feed everyone in the bunkers two meals. Just to be on the safe side, a barrel of water was added for each bunker.

The Commander decided to copy what was happening in Mt Orlan and would instruct the clans that the extra people saved had to be 18 orphaned children and two unattached relatively young skilled adults, and the split between the genders should be equal. The Commander knew that Clarke wanted orphans because it would mean that the children wouldn’t mourn leaving their parents to die in praimfaya, and also that it would allow for more bloodlines to continue. Wanheda had used the word ‘genetics’ when explaining it all to the Commander, but Lexa and her people understood it easier when the phrase ‘blood lines’ was used instead.

Wick reported that Kane flew very well so he would pilot the next flight to the earth. Kyle would come down in the cockpit, but he wouldn’t be returning to the ARC again. Of the 285 people who would be remaining on earth, 55 were staying either in Mt Orlan or the Polis bunker and 230 would need to be taken down to Areasi. It would require six round trips of four days there and three, if they were lucky, back. They definitely needed more drivers.

The ARC sent three algae farms so that one could go in Mt Orlan and two into the Polis bunker as a form of insurance. They agreed to send more with each visit if they were able to get more up and running. The ARC needed to make sure that they had enough to maintain their necessary oxygen levels. Clarke thanked them and noted that they could make more once the trips to earth were finished for the time being. The ones in Mt Orlan would be placed in the quarantine section where the children would be sleeping during the time of loss of power in the hope that it helped them a little.

Octavia and Lincoln were given the job of guiding the warriors to Areasi who had been allocated places by their respective clans. They also accompanied the orphans and guardians of their clan. In some ways it made the job harder because they took more time to travel. Each clan had its ten warriors, the eighteen orphans, two guardians, and the donations to the long term well being of the people. Each round trip took about three weeks, and then it was a case of escorting the children and guardians of Shallow Valley, Broadleaf and Rockline whose warriors were already in Areasi. This required more guards able to ride horses. Echo and Roan both volunteered endearing them both to the Commander. Two of the six additional guards for Aiden that had not attended with him earlier would accompany each convoy as guards and remain at Areasi so that all ten of Aiden’s guards would be there once all the warriors and the orphans and their guardians had arrived.

Each time Skaikru (including Lincoln, Roan and Echo) provided an escort for coalition people to move to Areasi, the Commander sent an animal to Mt Orlan: three cows, four sheep two large strong cart horses. Unbeknownst to Clarke, it was Luna who informed the Commander what animals they were most in need of. By the time the escort of the warriors and orphans was complete they would also receive a further pig, two deer and another bee hive.

Once Kyle Wick was brought up to date with the situation at the Polis bunker a mini brainstorming session led to the agreement that the best thing to do to ensure that radio contact could be re-established would be to find an open area above the bunker and to dig down to attach a network cable that could be accessed from inside the bunker (sealing the area around any breaches, of-course). The access to the cable could be in a covered box that could be opened once it was safe to be outside in a radiation suit (or without if a black blood). It was agreed to do this in three places to give the best odds for access.

It turned out that the best place to do this was the arena. After the cable boxes were lightly covered their GPS locations were noted. The Commander was about to order the demolition of the stand at the arena but Raven pointed out that it was all wooden and would be burnt in the death wave rather than fall and block the boxes.

All the Skaikru people who were staying in the Polis bunker moved in to ensure that it was up and running efficiently before the death wave hit. There were lots of other people there who were delivering things to be stored, making sure the rooms were suitable for the animals and querying again and again how they were going to have enough water and air to keep everyone alive for five years. To make them feel better Indra agreed to keep some barrels of water that they would keep for when they ran out of water later.

Unfortunately things were not allowed to continue to progress so smoothly; Queen Nia clearly still had some spies working for her in the coalition. 

One of the bunkers in Europe was able to give the location of the entrance to the former UN bunker in Old New York – Sankru territory. Alfred said that as far as he was aware no one made it inside but he knew about it because his father was on the list to have access before leaving the UN and was persistent at trying to gain contact with them for years until he died.

A team was sent from the coalition, made of the ten Sankru warriors who were allocated a place in the Polis bunker, and a team of three from Skaikru.

They found the entrance exactly where Alfred said it would be and began to follow the tunnel. What they didn’t expect to find was a lot of skeletons where people had clearly made their way to try to access the bunker but were stopped by a tunnel collapse. Knowing the potential to save a thousand more lives they agreed it was worth the risk to try to dig a way through the blockage.

They were wrong. The tunnel was under the river and as they tried to dig through the collapse they caused water to start leaking through the roof. The trickle soon became a flow and it wasn’t long before they were standing in rapidly rising water: they had to get out.

The warriors could all swim, but the Skaikru couldn’t. Skaikru didn’t know, but the Commander had told the warriors that it was hard, but if their fight was over, Sankru could easily provide more warriors to save, but if Skaikru fell, there was not enough of them with the tek knowledge to easily be replaced. Their duty was clear.

The Sankru warriors made it harder for themselves by making sure that they could save the Skaikru. They thought they had reached the safety of the tunnel’s entrance only to be ambushed a small contingent of Azgedan warriors.

Five of the Sankru warriors were killed and two of the Skaikru, Roma and Dax. Mbege was injured, but he would live. Two of the remaining five Sankru were seriously injured and the med kit that Clarke had insisted they carry was somewhere in the water, and Roma was the field medic. Although Mbege didn’t know exactly what was said between the warriors, he understood the outcome. One of the three relatively unscathed said “Yu gonplei ste odon” and slit the throat of both of the injured. From an initial team of 13, they were now a team of four.

“They knew we were there and why, didn’t they?” Mbege said.

“Yes” confirmed it. “They also know about the Polis bunker. We must notify the Commander as soon as possible.”

One of the warriors would escort Mbege back to Mt Orlan while the other two would ride post haste to Polis to warn the Commander.

As it turned out the Commander already knew. Large troop movements were spotted on the Azgeda border with some crossing into Trikru clearly heading for Polis. Clarke had warned the Commander but unfortunately did not know about the small contingent entering Sankru territory. It seemed that the Sankru ambassador had disappeared, and when someone happened to ask if there was any link to Azgeda it then came to light that the last Azgedan ambassador was her cousin. Azgeda would have details of all the bunkers except that they did not know where the Camp David and Areasi bunkers were.

Those in the immediate vicinity, who had already been nominated to have places in the Polis bunker other than the warriors, were immediately sent there and the door was sealed. Indra, who was most indignant at not being thought of as a necessary warrior, was told by the Commander not to open it unless it was by her own command and that if the worst was to happen, Indra was in charge until after praimfaya and their people could be reunited. Kyle Wick said that it was a common practice in space to have a series of passwords to denote trouble.

“Basically you choose something innocuous and that is the word for trouble, or danger. When you say that word the other person asks how much you have. So if you, Commander said you have some bread, Indra would ask how much, and you could say lots so Indra would know there was too much danger to open the seal, or you could say none at all really so Indra would know it was safe, or you could say a little, so they’d open it but be ready to defend. If you said something so that Indra would think you were being coerced then she could pretend that the seal was stuck, apologise and buy you a bit more time without the listener knowing they were being sold. We used to do it all the time when we were getting into mischief.”

“That is a good idea, thank you Wick kom Skaikru” the Commander said and proceeded to talk codes to Indra.

All people around Mt Orlan were put on close contact lock down, meaning they had to stay close to the mountain and keep to their stated groups so that if a lone infiltrator came they would be easily spotted. There was one, and they were. Clarke tried to persuade him to surrender but he would not. He drew his sword, so confident that he would be able to beat the puny sky girl that he didn’t take into account that guards on patrol were allowed to carry their guns and he was shot in the head as he charged for Clarke.

The fifteen Azgedans were confined to quarters. Bellamy and Clarke went to explain what was happening and they were asked why they were not killing their prisoners of war.

“We don’t kill unless we feel we have no choice in order to protect or because we wanted to stop the prolonged suffering of someone for whom there was no chance to save” Clarke said and wondered how many times she would have to try to explain their view of the sanctity of life.

“We will not be allowed to return to Azgeda once the two years of servitude has been fulfilled, will we?” Willow asked. “We know that there is something more than a war with Ageda going on, we hear things, we see things. We might not know what it all means but we know it means something.”

Clarke and Bellamy looked at each other, looked at Gordon and nodded. They would explain everything.

“So we are doomed?”

“No, everyone who lives in here should survive. Roan and Echo chose you because they believed you could come to understand and appreciate that Nia’s rule, or rather the way that she rules, is wrong. Once Azgeda attacked Polis and the sacred children it was inevitable that they would have to leave the coalition and not be offered spaces in the bunkers. We’re saving who we can so that at least in part, Azgeda can live on” Clarke explained.

“And if Azgeda wins?” Bogdov asked, with a tone that suggested he wanted to use the word ‘when’ rather than ‘if’.

“Then all the coalition bar a few who are already here or at the Areasi bunker die because there is no way that Azgeda can operate the bunkers without Skaikru and we will hunker down in here and protect ourselves before we go to war or risk capture by Azgeda” Bellamy was blunt, but not letting on that the bunkers were already partially occupied and could easily be sealed so that no one could get in. “Because of your last attack the Commander gave us permission to repair the defence systems that we had previously destroyed. We also have six ballistic missiles that could destroy all of Azgeda and a large area within the coalition if we saw a build up of warriors headed our way. Areasi has control over a number of other missiles and would come to our aid if we requested it. We will win, and we won’t even have to leave the mountain to do it. And if the war ends before praimfaya hits, we will gather up as many survivors of the other clans as we can to save in the other bunkers. Azgeda’s future is sealed. Skaikru’s future is assured. The only unknown is the fate of the other coalition clans.”

“What of Prince Roan and Echo? Shawn asked.

“They are on their way to the Areasi bunker with Lincoln, Octavia and others, escorting a group orphans from Broadleaf. I will ask them to stay there with the drivers from here who were taking some of the Arkers there until it is safe for them to return” Clarke said. “Now you know what is happening, and I’m sorry that for the time being you will have to remain confined to quarters. I cannot guarantee that someone won’t take their anger out on you, or that you will not try to aid your Queen. I am sorry.”

Clarke contacted Anya and offered the use of three night vision goggles for a bear skin for each once the war was won. Anya laughed and agreed knowing that the Commander would honour the agreement since bears would be waking up and plentiful in the Delfikru area. Clarke rode out to meet Anya with the goggles and a few other things.

“We’ll also watch what is going on day and night and radio you or the Commander if there is movement. And Anya, here’s a few freebies, pull the pin and throw, but make sure you and the two others have your gas masks on. You can’t wear the night vision goggles with the gas mask but even once people start to wake they will be woozy for a good while. Don’t forget to collect the evidence if you think it will cause trouble” and Clarke handed over three sleeping gas grenades. “They will work better in a small area so use the vision goggles to take out any on the outskirts of a camp before using the gas. Also”, and Clarke made a small cut to Anya’s arm and pushed in a tracker and quickly stitched it up again “do this for the Commander” Clarke handed a small tracker device “and as long as she is alive I will be able to find her, and same for you. Good luck, and may we meet again, Anya” and Clarke hugged the warrior. 

“Thank you sky girl” Anya said and she leant forward to kiss Clarke. “We will meet again so we can have a bit of fun before we must part to go our separate ways.”

Clarke and Bellamy radioed Areasi to let them know what was going on and then spoke to Octavia, Lincoln, Echo and Roan. Both Octavia and Lincoln wanted to return to fight for the coalition while Echo and Roan wanted to defend the mountain.

“No, I’m sorry, but no” Bellamy was adamant. “Your job is to make sure that as many people as possible get to Areasi. Many of those currently planned to move will be safe since they are already on their way south. One way or another it will all be over by the time you have safely escorted those. We will advise what you should do then after consulting with Areasi and the Commander. You may have to be prepared to stay in Areasi, too, but that is a last resort.”

“Yeah, what he said” Clarke added. “Please don’t try to be one type of hero when we need you to be another type. The hundreds of people making their way to you are counting on you to get them to safety. They won’t be able to get there without your assistance.”

“Yeah, yeah, we know you’re right” Roan sighed. “We make sure we save the people we can because every life matters; and we’ll get as many as we can to safety. I really don’t want to stay there, though. The people are creepy.”

Octavia clearly snatched the radio from Roan’s hand because she got all excited and said “he’s right, they are! They look at us all as if they want to touch us to make sure we’re real. I don’t know if that’s because of our sort of hybrid status or what because they don’t seem to look at the others with the same degree of creepiness: it’s weird.”

Clarke and Bellamy looked at each other in concern. “Do you think you will be safe?” Clarke asked.

“Yeah, those we escort wouldn’t let anything happen to us and even some of the Arkers are in awe of our greatness” Octavia said. “While we take our day of rest at Areasi, we’ve taken to training with Deiter, Miller, Rose and Jess and some others are clearly interested in our lessons, especially once we go on to train against each other. The other warriors, although at first very scathing about Roan’s arm, now say they want one just like it.”

“Okay, take care and stay safe, you can’t help anyone if you’re dead” Clarke said as she handed the radio over to Bellamy for a few private words with Octavia.

Clarke began to prepare contingency plans. What to do if they can’t get any more people out of Mt Orlan, or get their people back from Areasi. The difficulty would be the time after they lost power due to the death wave, but before the wind turbines could be re-activated. 

Due to the hundred allocated for Camp David together with the extra Arkers who had not yet travelled to Areasi and the animals they were at their maximum capacity and they would be very short of oxygen for a while. Clarke went to talk to Raven about it.

Raven agreed that it was a bummer but they couldn’t actually chuck anyone out or risk people going too far from the mountain if it wasn’t safe. She got her team on to making more algae farms and she insisted that every oxygen tank be filled to 100% capacity. With the help of Bree, they were able to agree which non essential rooms could be shut off before the death wave hit so that there was not a last minute panic and an orderly plan for everyone to move to the secured temporary accommodation that would be fed oxygen via the emergency power system. It would be a tighter squeeze than originally planned.

“Okay, so that’s plan E for emergency excess and it’s only to be used if necessary so hopefully now that we have it, it won’t ever have to see daylight again and we can forget about it” Clarke sighed once they were all agreed they had done everything they could until they knew the fate of the coalition.

Costia and Maya called to speak to Clarke and Raven using the Polis bunker radio. 

“I’m so sorry, Costia” Clarke cried. “I didn’t give a moment’s thought to how you must be feeling with Lexa’s life on the line. Let me go to the Control Room to check that her tracker is still working, although I’m sure that someone would have come to tell me if either of them had gone off.”

Clarke looked over and saw that Anya and Lexa were fairly close, Anya heading towards Lexa, and she told Costia and Maya as much.

“I have faith that the Commander will be victorious” Costia said, “but I do worry about what the cost will be. The Commander has given instructions on what we are to do for the succession should she fall and Titus is not happy since there won’t be a conclave at all, or an Ascension ceremony for five years since she has said that Aiden would clearly be the best Commander. Only Griff disagrees and thinks that he should be allowed to ascend. But since I could defeat him in a fight I’m pretty sure it won’t happen.”

“How is everyone else handling it down there?”

It was Maya who took up the radio this time. “Other than being worried for everyone still up top, we’re doing alright. We’re all working on the assumption that the seal will be opened again shortly to either let us out for a while or to let more in so we’re settling into the accommodations that we would have when everyone is here. We’re not getting an awful lot to eat since the farm is not up to full production yet and Indra said that we should not break into the stores. ‘While they are fighting up there, we can diet down here’ she says and since she is right we don’t really mind. Listen, what we really wanted to talk to you about is what are you going to do if Azgeda attacks you again?”

Clarke thought for a moment and realised that they didn’t really have much of a choice. “Kill them all. If we don’t then they are going to keep on attacking us and we are never going to get more people to Areasi. We no longer have the possibility of finding and supporting another bunker so they will die anyway and it might as well be a quick death while they are asleep than a prolonged one due to radiation exposure” she said sadly.

“We agree, both of us” Maya said. “We thought you would want to know.”

“Thank you, your support means so much. Anya and the Commander are now in the same location and I can see a large troop from Azgeda not far from them. It looks like they are planning on setting up camp for the night, no doubt to attack at first light. I promise I will watch over them tonight and speak to you in the morning.”

And Clarke did watch very carefully all through the night. She saw when Anya and two others, presumably with their night vision goggles left the coalition camp and moved towards the Azgedan. She also saw when five Azgedans left their camp and forming a wide semi-circle headed towards the coalition. Clarke knew the the Azgedan heading almost directly for Anya would be dealt with but the other four would probably pass them by. She radioed the Commander to let her know the location of the four scouts headed her way. Clarke saw when two coalition warriors headed off to search for each of the four Azgedan scouts: and them all succeeding in taking out their targets except for one coalition warrior who died.

Clarke watched as Anya and her two partners took out the single scout heading in their direction and saw as they went around the Azgedan camp taking out all the guards one by one and since it didn’t result in a mass of movement from the camp Clarke assumed that the deaths were silent. Clarke wished that the Commander had allowed them to use the guns, but she understood the reluctance.

Anya had clearly chosen well with the two she took with her because they were able to take out nearly half of the camp before it seemed they were spotted. Anya used one of the gas canisters and ran, apparently still wearing the night vision goggles rather than the gas mask since she and her crew were able to dodge round obstacles quite nimbly. Clarke got on the radio. “Anya, you are not being followed. I repeat, you are not being followed. No one has left that camp.”

“Thanks, Sky Girl, I guess that means that we can go in and finish the job, and collect the evidence!” Anya said.

Clarke assumed that they exchanged the goggles for the masks because they turned around and went back towards the camp a lot slower than when they left. Only once it was clear that everyone in the camp was dead did Anya return to the Commander.

Clarke suggested to the Commander that she keep all her people inside the tight perimeter of the camp so that she could easily spot individuals who might wander close to the camp and alert them otherwise it would be almost impossible for her to keep track of any from the camp and tell them apart from others. The Commander seemed reluctant to agree that all the watchers would stay within camp. Clarke also suggested that they put out the fire and use the night vision goggles. That suggestion was seized upon.

Clarke had to disturb them once in the night to tell them about the movement of three life forms, details unclear, that turned out to be deer; and to inform the Commander that another of Azgeda’s battalions was in a direct path of the other, now former, Azgedan camp just to the north of them. It appeared to be slightly smaller than the group of about 500 taken out during the night. It would likely take about four or five hours for them to reach the camp so the Commander suggested that Clarke hand over watch duties and get some sleep.

Clarke called for Bellamy, gave him a recap, did the same for Costia, and went to bed. Four hours later she was back in the Control Room being briefed by Bellamy.

“They sent out six in a wide arc that I let the Commander know about, she sent two after each one. All six were killed. That was about 30 minutes ago, an hour after they left the main troop” Bellamy said.

Another group of six set off, this time it was six pairs. Bellamy radioed the Commander to tell her. In response to the Azgeda increase, she sent four warriors after each pair. All 12 Azgedans were killed with the loss of three coalition warriors. An hour later the whole of the Azgedan troop moved to the former camp. 

Bellamy pointed to three figures on the outskirts of the camp. “There’s three coalition people in the trees so they’ll see and hear everything. The Commander said one of them has a set of the night vision goggles in case they have to remain there that long.” 

Areasi contacted Clarke and Bellamy to say that rain was headed for the area where the camps were and they believed it was black rain. It was coming from the north east so it would hit the Azgedans (and the three coalition people in the trees) first if they stayed where they were.

Clarke let the Commander know about the forecast and what black rain was. “You need to get under cover where the rain can’t penetrate, tents and clothing is not enough. It is acid and it will burn through” Clarke insisted when the Commander seemed to think that a little rain would not interfere with their plans.

Luckily for Clarke’s peace of mind most of the coalition warriors were heading for somewhere else. Two walked straight to the Azgedans. It wasn’t long before Clarke could see that most of the coalition had disappeared into various cave systems.

“A warning system of some sort” Bellamy said when shortly after the coalition pair stopped their forward progress and two of the scouts left the area. The other was probably trapped. Clarke hoped that one of the two who left was the one with the goggles so they couldn’t fall into Azgeda’s hands.

Black rain hit the camp: many died and no doubt even more were severely injured. Once the storm had passed the area whereby the Commander was protected, she radioed to ask if all was clear.

“The rain has passed. About a third of the Azgedans were killed, as was your scout who was unable to leave. I am sure also that many are injured, probably severely. The fighting fit portion is probably down to one third, if that, so between 100 and 150” Clarke was sombre. “I actually see that many are dying now, probably being put out of their misery” Clarke offered as she remembered doing that for Atom in a previous life.

“I thank you for your warnings and the information. You have earned many bear skins.”

Clarke gave a sad little laugh and said that they would be much appreciated. She then pointed out that Anya was on the move, heading towards where they were camped before the rain.

Clarke and Bellamy were not called upon to offer any more advice since the Commander decided to take the opportunity of the depletion of the Azgedan army to attack. She asked only that Clarke let her know if more black rain was on its way or there were more troop movements from Azgeda.

The other main battalion from Azgeda had not moved and were not caught in the rain. In comparison of size, the first battalion was about 500 warriors, so Bellamy estimated that the second was about 400, maybe a few more. The third battalion must be no more than 350, and very probably only around 300. Clarke radioed Echo to ask about numbers.

“The first group would be a mix of about half full time warriors and half other skilled labour, like blacksmiths, hunters, messengers, possibly even some animal trainers, tailors and teachers, usually former warriors passed their best. They would have been expected to make large inroads into the coalition army, and most likely die. The second group would have no fewer than 20 full time skilled warriors, and each would be in command of a group of 10 lesser skilled warriors and 10 call ups, or volunteers. They would be expected to finish off the coalition army and many would expect to die, too. The final group will include the elite warriors, the Queen’s Guard and others who will be expected to finish off any stragglers as they march triumphantly into Polis. I don’t know what they will do if they do not receive word that they were victorious or if they do receive word that they were wiped out. There will be no real warriors left in Azgeda: some skilled fighters and some up and coming skilled hunters but no full time warriors.”

Clarke informed the Commander of Echo’s words. She was not surprised.

“We have finished off the second group. It was fairly easy since even those fighting were clearly suffering from the effects of the black rain. There is a place about a day’s march from here that I would prefer the final battle to take place. We will march closer to Nia, but she will still be at least three days’ away. We will set camp just a few minutes from a number of caves that will allow us to take shelter should it prove necessary. I will send Anya and two others with the goggles to carry out hit and run exercises on Nia’s camp. If nothing else it will irritate her. Please sleep so that you can watch over her at night” the Commander said. 

After a quick chat with Bellamy, who promised to send someone for her if anything else happened, Clarke agreed to get a few more hours’ sleep.

Clarke enjoyed a few conversations with people who all seemed to agree that the end was nigh for Queen Nia so there was no need to worry any more, they just had to wait and enjoy the quiet before it was all over and they had to get back to work. That, more than anything else made Clarke relax enough to sleep for a few more hours before she was woken up again with the news that six people were walking towards Mt Orlan from Azgeda.

The cameras at Camp David picked them up and the pictures looked more like a rag-tag group of four women, one of who looked heavily pregnant, and two children. It didn’t look like an attack but Clarke and Bellamy both knew that it could be a ruse and it could actually be four well trained warriors with two trainees. They quickly discussed and agreed a plan: one that would prevent them from attacking the mountain if that was their intent, yet would offer aid if that was what was sought and needed. 

Clarke went to get the people and things she would require. She and her team were ready long before the group reached the outskirts of the mountain’s area. When they were sure they would hear clearly what was said through the outdoors speaker system Clarke and her team of guards, all suited up to protect from any infections or diseases the people might carry went to intercept them and Gordon’s voice was heard calling through the system, first in English and then in Azgedesleng.

“You six people heading for Mt Orlan from Azgeda please stand still.”

“Please, slowly, place your burdens on the ground in front of you and walk to the side of them so you are away from your burdens. They will be searched and if there are no weapons they will be returned to you.”

When Clarke received the go ahead, she and her team left their cover and went up to the six people. They appeared to be nervous, no, anxious, and when Clarke heard a whimper from one of the bundles she understood why. Using her radio she informed medical of what she was doing and why.

The guards placed a pile of clothes of various sizes in front of the women and children while Clarke went to the whimpering bundle.

Gordon told the people to take their outer clothing off so they could see that they carried no weapons and don the clothing provided. They did that, someone helping the woman who was indeed heavily pregnant. Seeing that the baby was malnourished, but nothing else seemed to be wrong with it, and it certainly carried no weapons, but he could carry an infection, Clarke carried it over to the women and offered it to them. One woman took the baby with a nervous smile.

“Do you speak my language?” Clarke asked them.

“I do, as does my sister, but the others do not” one of the women said.

“Let me tell you what’s going to happen and why so you can translate for them” Clarke said knowing they would be less anxious to hear it from one of their own rather than from a voice coming from nowhere and everywhere. An agreeing nod gave Clarke leave to continue. “We’re going to lead you where there are some external accommodations so you have shelter while your things are collected and searched. While you are in the shelter we will bring you some food and water to drink and some extra milk for the baby. I will take a little of your blood to test to make sure that you are not a trick sent to us by Queen Nia to infect us with some disease. When we are sure that all is well you will be invited in to our home to talk. You will at all times be guarded and any attempt to run away will lead to you being shot, so please do not try. If you wish to leave at any time, just say, and you can be on your way.”

As the translation was given, Clarke again marvelled at how similar Azgedesleng and Trigedesleng were and was able to confirm that the translation was accurate. There was some complaining about the taking of the blood, but it quietened when Clarke’s reason for requiring it was given.

Everyone walked around the mountain until they came to a cabin that was kept warm so that Skaikru could try to make sure someone was outside at all times as per the Commander’s request at the Peace summit. A bug had been placed in it so that they could hear what they talked about when they thought that they were alone.

Food and water was waiting for them and the two children, one boy, one girl, dived straight for it and started to eat too quickly. One of the women told them to slow down or they would make themselves sick so Clarke didn’t have to. She pointed out the chamber area and told them she would be back shortly to collect the blood and that guards would be outside so they had some privacy.

The piles of belongings proved to be nothing more than clothing rags and two small knives. Those and the piles of clothing they wore were put through the decontamination sequence and given a wash.

More food and water was brought for them to eat and drink, and a bottle of milk for the baby. Clarke had to demonstrate how to get the baby to drink from the bottle rather than his mother, but the baby, like the other children, needed to be slowed down. The mother would not have been able to produce sufficient milk for her son if she was too malnourished herself.

Once everyone had eaten their fill Clarke, still in her hazmat suit, formally introduced herself and asked for their names in broken trig. The children took great pleasure in correcting her language. Using English she said why she wore the suit and what the needle would do to take some blood. It was translated into Azgedesleng. She then said that they had machines that could examine the blood and know if there was anything wrong with them and say what they should do to make them better. She pointed out that the needle might sting a little, but she was sure that such brave people would not cry.

It was only the baby who cried a little at the sting of the needle.

The blood tests revealed nothing but the results of malnutrition which would be corrected over time with a healthy diet. The only problem was the pregnant woman who did not have the time to wait to get healthy; she would need the intervention of supplements.

Clarke didn’t bother donning her suit again but she went speak to the women. Gordon had confirmed that they spoke of nothing more than hope that they made the right decision to come here for help and that one of them is the sister of Ivy, one of the 15 Roan and Echo selected to stay from the army that attacked them. Clarke guessed that it was Holly who was Ivy’s sister.

Clarke knocked before entering the cabin to tell the women the news. “It means that you, Leah, will have to have what we call supplements, concentrated vitamins and minerals, to get your body healthy quickly so that your child may benefit, but everyone else just needs time and a good diet to get well.”

When Jass finished translating, Holly – in very broken English, asked “why not all sup-ments?”

“They are hard to make and the body can find it difficult to digest. With Leah, we will make the supplements into something that we can put direct into her blood so that the stomach does not have to fight to digest them. Making them this way is very difficult and sometimes taking them is not nice because Leah will have to lie quite still while they drip into her blood and lying like that can be uncomfortable; but the baby needs them now and cannot wait.”

Jass translated and everyone nodded encouragement to Leah.

“I will stay with Leah while she gets her supplements. Can the others go somewhere they can relax before we all talk?” Jass asked.

“I can take them to the other Azgedans who are here. I’m afraid that until the war is over and we know everyone is safe, the Azgedans are in their own special section to make sure no one who might be angry with Queen Nia takes out their feelings on our guests, and to be sure that they do not betray us. I am sorry that for the time being it will be like this. Also, since we cannot live outside safely yet, it is a little crowded in here but we don’t expect it to be for much longer.”

It was Gordon who led the women and children to where they were staying. Clarke handed over some more milk for the baby and some cloths for keeping him clean. She then led Leah and Jass to the med bay.

Leah was invited to use the bathroom facilities, needing to be shown how they worked, and told to lie down in a position that she was quite comfortable in. Jackson used some pillows for added support and when satisfied, set up the IV. Molly would sit with her and Jass and when Leah needed the bathroom again, to let Molly know so she could detach the IV and then put it back once Leah was ready.

After the first bag was in, Jackson did a quick ultrasound to make sure all was reasonably well with the baby and to try to work out when it would arrive. Naturally Leah and Jass were fascinated at seeing the baby while it was still inside Leah on the screen. He was a little concerned at the slowness of the heart rate that suggested that there were more problems that they were not able to find or address, or that the baby was further along than it looked. He decided it was probably a mixture of the two and only hoped that continued bed rest, good nutrition, and lack of anxiety would take care of most of the problems.

Perhaps it was the weight being taken from her shoulders that had Leah falling asleep quite quickly. Jass took the opportunity to fish for information from Molly.

“Why are you helping us when we’re at war?” Jass decided to get to the point.

“You are not attacking us, hurting us. We, or at least our leadership and most of our people, do not blame you for what your leaders do. Our leaders have already made it clear that we will offer help to any who need it as long as it does not put us at risk. So far only two people who joined us have regretted it. The others who feel that they cannot live with the compassionate ethos have moved on. I think some feel that Clarke and Bellamy have gone too far but prefer it this way to being too harsh so might grumble a bit and shake their heads in disappointment all the while waiting for the opportunity to say ‘I told you so’; which will never come because, as you saw, Clarke and Bellamy are very thorough in their precautions. The punishments for crimes is known and accepted even if not liked, and if you’re going to stay you will need to know what they are. The general principle of being here is that you are treated with respect so you will treat everyone else with respect regardless of your personal thoughts and feelings about them. Are you planning on asking to stay?” Molly decided to do a bit of fishing of her own.

“We want to, but we are used to a harsh life with harsh sentences for crimes. We might also find it difficult to treat everyone with respect since that is a behaviour that is usually saved for when addressing superiors. Those we think of as inferior are used as targets” Jass was realistic.

“At first you’ll get warnings and reminders, but if you being here upsets others because of your own actions then I imagine you will be asked to leave” Molly shrugged. “But if others upset you and you don’t know how to deal with it then go and speak to Gordon or Luna if Echo and Roan aren’t back by then.”

“Prince Roan and Echo of Azgeda live here now?” Jass was astounded.

“I didn’t know Roan was a prince, I thought it was a joke, like we sometimes call Clarke ‘Princess’ even though she’s not. But, a Roan, sometimes called a prince, and an Echo, not scarred like most adult Azgedans because apparently she was a spy and had to blend in, who used to live in Azgeda now live here and are currently out helping, hmm, you know, I’m not sure who it is they’re helping at the moment, I think it might be Shallow Valley, but I could be wrong: all I know is that they are somewhere down south right now with a few others, including Lincoln who used to live in Trikru. Clarke suggested they stay there until it is safe for them to come back.”

“Why would Prince Roan not fight at his mother’s, his Queen’s, side?”

“Because he knows what she is doing is wrong” Molly was blunt. “He’s a great bloke and he adores Clarke.”

“Wanheda is Prince Roan’s chosen?” Jass was surprised.

“I’m not 100% sure you mean what I think you mean but I think the answer is no, not yet. She saved his life and they are very good friends and we all think that one day they will get married, bond, match up, pair up, however you want to say it. But at the moment I think they are concentrating on making sure that Roan is back to full strength and that we get as many people safely through this difficult time as we can. Anyway, Gordon or Luna will be your best bet if you want information about Roan” Molly suddenly remembered that Jass had not been cleared to know everything so she couldn’t tell her what was really going on.

“I do not know any Luna” Jess said.

“Oh, she used to be the leader of Floukru, I think you call it, but she and a few others are the only ones left. They were all sick and Clarke saved who she could. The rest died and I guess it seems silly to have a clan of only five people, three of whom are children, so she agreed to settle here with us and act as the liaison between the new people and the leadership. No doubt she’ll come to talk to you at some point. I find her company very soothing.”

Jass, although previously told of the Skaikru’s soft ways, had not thought of them being so soft: not weak, no; no one who had achieved as much as Wanheda and the rest of Skaikru could be called weak, but Jass did wonder if their softness might descend into weakness. If that were to happen, Jass thought that Prince Roan would surely take command of the clan. She decided that she would have to keep a close eye out; listen to what was not being said as well as being spoken and hope she had made the correct decision to bring her friends here, the home of their clan’s enemy.  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I still haven't decided if Lincoln was winding the women up by saying Raven's other half was among the Azgedan warriors. I'm veering towards it being a wind up, but if you think it should be otherwise, let me know.
> 
> Another new arrival in the next chapter and Raven has a brilliant idea that has nothing to do with tech!


	24. The War is Won

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How the people of Mt Orlan help the Commander and the coalition win the war against Azgeda.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eric Jackson is discrete, not stupid. In this chapter we get to see a little of that side to his character. We also get to see how Gustus reacts to what he thinks may be a threat to his beloved Commander, and it's a good job that Clarke had prior warning of his modus operandi.

Clarke knew that a final battle was imminent and she wondered how she could secure the life of the Commander given the Azgedan propensity to coat their blades with poison. She called Costia for advice. Costia said that since they were locked in the bunker and would not be allowed out at least until they knew it would be safe to open the door she would be unable to help. So Clarke called Anya.

Anya agreed that since there were no other night bloods in the immediate vicinity to donate to the Commander Clarke’s offer was the only one that was at all viable. The Commander, however, would not allow for Wanheda to put herself at risk. They reached a compromise and a meeting point close to where the battle was expected to take place was agreed - provided Luna agreed to the plan. She did.

Clarke went to the med bay to arrange for blood to be drawn from all the black bloods, except Rhodes and Luna. Whilst that was happening Clarke gathered together the necessary supplies and drew some diagrams and talked Luna through what needed to be done. The blood, the supplies and the diagrams were placed in a cool box (which she asked Luna to make sure was returned). Clarke did place a tracker in Luna so that she could make sure she was safe and gave her an open radio with a hidden ear piece so they could keep in touch. Luna set off on their fastest horse, leading another to change mount. She rode all day and using the night vision goggles Clarke loaned Luna, she arrived at the meeting point well into the night, almost dawn. Luna didn’t have long to wait until, as she spoke to the mic, she saw Gustus. Gustus who Clarke knew to be completely loyal to Lexa, but who would use anyone, kill anyone if he thought there might be a hindrance to her command. Clarke hoped he didn’t think of Luna as a hindrance to Lexa’s hold on her throne.

“Be very careful of Gustus” Clarke whispered in Luna’s ear. “If he believes that you could in any way be a danger to Lexa’s command he will take you out by fair means or foul; and it probably won’t be through a direct attack.”

Clarke was sure that unless Gustus blindsided Luna she would be safe from a direct attack; and Luna would wait in one of the caves until and unless she was needed and Gustus would be with the Commander. She had five pints of black blood, and knew how to donate from herself if it were needed. With the open radio mic Clarke could also offer surgical advice if necessary. Mt Orlan only had the one dialysis machine so they could not risk losing it but Clarke would be at the ready to take it if necessary.

“Why are you doing this, traitor?” Gustus asked in trig as they hurried to the caves.

“Clarke believes that keeping Lexa alive is important. I trust Clarke therefore I also believe that keeping Lexa alive is important. We both hope that the blood I have brought will not be needed and I can ride back home after the battle and Lexa need never know I was there” Luna’s words almost brought tears to Clarke’s eyes because Luna referred to Mt Orlan as home.

“You think you now have a home with the people from the sky? They will take anyone” Gustus disparaged both Skaikru and Luna.

“Anyone who will live in peace, yes” Luna agreed. “They are an odd bunch and I don’t understand half of their customs or their sense of humour; but I do not mistake their desire for peace as weakness. I did think them weak; the people they keep alive; at first I was shocked, sickened; but then I spoke with the man with no legs, a shoe maker ironically, and realised it is not weakness keeping him alive, it is pure strength: a strength born out of love and determination; the same determination that saved Lexa from dying a slow and painful death at the hands of Ontari with her poison; that same love that Lexa feels for her night blood children. Nia thought them weak and she is paying for that. I did not trust Wanheda. I lost most of my people because I did not heed her warnings like Lexa heeded her warnings about the night blood children. I will not make that mistake again.”

Clarke knew that Luna was saying she would be very careful around Gustus.

Clarke watched Anya, Luna and the Commander on the screens. Clarke could do nothing to protect Luna given her location, but she could keep an eye for anyone around Anya. Clarke assumed that Gustus gave the night vision goggles that he was probably wearing to someone because a person left their camp and headed for the direction of Anya. There was another person heading for Anya, too. This person could have been the other partner from her camp but she didn’t think so. She radioed to give a warning about someone behind her.

Anya dodged to the side, behind a tree and let the person walk past her. The person didn’t get far.

“Thanks sky girl.”

Anya and her hit and run team were reasonably successful in that they took out around 10 to 15% of the camp that night even though only two worked for most of it. It did, however, alert the Queen to their proximity if not their exact location. A group of scouts, three per team, with 11 teams were sent out. Five of the teams were heading in the coalition’s camp general direction; three were headed back towards Azgeda, two were headed in the general direction of Mt Orlan and one was headed south almost towards Ton DC. Clarke advised the Commander and said that if either of the teams came close to the mountain they would be taken care of.

They did, and they were.

The Commander warned the bunker in TonDC who opened the door so that a message could be sent to some of the warriors still in the village. Using a single band radio from the bunker a relay could be set up so that they knew if they were in the correct heading.

Using Anya to be exact with the direction the Commander was facing, Clarke was able to give more precise guidance on the direction of the scouting teams. Clarke warned the Commander that once her teams met up with the Azgedan scouting teams she would not be able to tell who won the outcome unless there was some pre-arranged signal to their movements if they were hers. The Commander thanked Clarke for her foresight and they agreed a set of movements for the coalition people to perform.

Luna through the open mic and earpiece heard everything said and mentally agreed with Lexa that Wanheda was indeed thorough with her planning and foresight. It made her more worried about Gustus. Wanheda clearly saw something in Gustus that she, and others, had missed.

It was after the battle that Clarke’s worry came to pass. The Commander had not been poisoned but had lost a great deal of blood so two of the units that Luna brought with her were transfused into Lexa, who was surprised, but pleased to see her old friend. Luna reached for a water skin to give Lexa a drink when Gustus took it from her to pour into a goblet before handing it to a guard to drink first.

“Dammit” Clarke whispered in Luna’s ear. “He’s poisoned the water and he’ll blame you!”

Luna did not know what Wanheda was talking about. “Start to drink from the water skin yourself” Luna was instructed.

Just as Luna was about to do as Wanheda said, the guard collapsed, seized and died.

“You!” Gugstus cried, pointing to Luna. “You poisoned the water you wanted to give to the Commander. Did you think that now you are clanless that you would take the flame and be Commander of us all?”

“Drink the bloody water, Luna, now” Clarke insisted in Luna’s ear.

Luna lifted the water skin and drank deeply. “This water is not poisoned” Luna asserted as she listened to what she was told through her ear piece. “It was in the goblet, the one you had, you wanted everyone to think that I was attempting to kill the Commander. Why?”

“You want to receive the flame and the Command, I know you do: for how else will you get back all that you have lost? You will never take it while I breathe to stop you” Gustus promised as he drew his sword ready to run Luna through.

Clarke could not see what was going on in the cave but she could guess. 

Luna’s indrawn breath. 

Gustus’s shocked cry of “Commander?” 

The Commander’s “Yu gonplei ste odon, Gustus kom Trikru” gave Clarke the broad outline of the story.

“I am so very sorry, Lexa” Luna said. “I know how fond of him you were. Perhaps I should not have come here.”

“No, Luna. You came to make sure I lived. I thank you and Wanheda for the forethought. I am sorry that my personal guard tried to kill you, and did kill a valuable warrior in order to make me believe that you were less than loyal to me. How did you know it was Gustus?” Lexa asked.

Repeating the words that Clarke said “He was antagonistic to my presence even though I was here to do Wanheda’s work of making sure you survived this battle. He put me on edge. I knew the water was not poisoned; it had been with me all the time and I had already drunk a little from it. The only conclusion was that the poison, if it was in the drink and not a delayed reaction to something else completely, was that it had to have been in the goblet, which Gustus had. I admit, though, I cannot understand why he would think that because most of my clan had died that I would want the command of the coalition. Taking command would not give me back the people lost; but he did not understand that I and others will gladly sacrifice power for peace.”

“It seems you are beginning to pick up some tips from Wanheda” Lexa almost smiled through her sadness at the death of her previously close personal guard.

“In that case, let me tell you that Anya told me that Clarke is also worried about Titus. She thinks that he is loyal to the flame, but not necessarily the holder of it. He was clearly ambivalent about Ontari taking over as Commander since he did not do a thorough job of ensuring that her blades were cleaned of all poison. If the current Commander behaves in a way that he thinks is unbecoming to the holder of the flame, he may act in such a way as to eliminate the behaviour. In other words, I think she believes that Costia is at risk from Titus because you love her and he wants you to accept that love is weakness.” 

As soon as Luna said Clarke’s words she knew they were correct. She remembered the harsh teachings of Titus and he really would not be happy that Lexa was in love and loved in return and said as much to Lexa.

Lexa thought for a while and admitted that she had to agree. She thought that separating Aiden from Titus during praimfaya would protect Aiden and allow him to grow in strength and independence, but she did not think about protecting Costia from Titus. It would take some careful consideration on what to do on that front. She could not allow Titus to harm Costia, or to think that his teachings were all correct, but she could not harm a flamekeeper. If she could not think of something, perhaps she could ask Wanheda for her advice.

“Thank you, my friend: your thoughts and advice are always welcome. Costia likes Wanheda. She says that Clarke, and that is what Costia always calls her because she first met her when she was just Clarke, co-leader of Skaikru, before the fall of the mounon, she says that Clarke reminds her of me, but is not so attractive, of-course” Lexa half laughed.

Luna agreed that Lexa and Wanheda were very similar and wondered what Clarke thought of that little exchange.

Clarke was really relieved when Luna arrived safely back at the mountain and that Nia and all of the Azgedan army was dead. It did mean that there was a leadership hole in Azgeda and the Commander called to ask Wanheda what she thought of the idea of sending Titus with Gordon to the capital of Azgeda to see to the organising of a chain of command within Azgeda, not that it would do any of them any good since they would not be allowed back into the coalition until after praimfaya if any of them somehow managed to survive, but the Commander thought that they may feel better with a leader to follow.

“Not Gordon, Bogdov. He does not want to be here so he would be the better person to send. Don’t forget to tell Titus to make sure he gets back to where he is staying in time. Perhaps he could go to Camp David? I know they could take one or two more. I could give them a drawing of him so they would recognise his likeness and know to open the door for him” Clarke offered. “Or he could come here and have a heart attack at the way we run things. He might not like the fact that being a flame keeper would not exempt him from having a proper job either.”

The Commander laughed, said she would keep that in mind and asked if Clarke could speak to Bogdov and let her know within the day.

Bogdov was glad to return to Azgeda and to help try to organise something for his people. Clarke tried to tell him that he would need to look for underground bunkers for as many as possible. She told him what the signs were and how to recognise the doors; to make sure that there was water and food. She reminded him that they were the only hope for the Azgedan people. “You and a maximum of three other people are welcome to return” Clarke told him.

“Thank you, Wanheda, but if my people are about to die, I wish to die with them. I will not return unless I somehow manage to find one of your bunkers and come to visit you again after five years” Bogdov said.

The convoy service was able to resume, once more taking people down to Areasi. Bellamy trained a number of drivers so that they could rotate: one convoy returns one day, another sets off the next with a fresh set of drivers and guards. Three of the Azgedans also volunteered to form part of the guard as did Branch, a Trikru warrior who had not been allocated a place in any of the bunkers. He said he had nothing to lose so he might as well go on a journey in strange Skaikru contraptions that might end up getting him killed anyway. “A new adventure” is how he described it. Clarke knew that either Areasi or Mt Orlan would somehow find room for one more, possibly what he was hoping for.

It did mean that Roan, Echo, Octavia and Lincoln could take a break from guide rotation for a while. They all said they looked forward to their return home to meet the new people and learn of the new plans.

New gifts arrived for Mt Orlan: from Marta and Megan’s father and village, 40 potted fir saplings, “one for each winter they each lived” with two potted sapling chestnut trees “one for each of the twins” the Commander’s messenger who accompanied the gifts said; 40 hens, two cockerels; 40 pellets of fur, two live deer; 40 swords, two shields; 40 skins of fine leather, two rolls of silk; 40 books, two packs of crayons; 40 bottles of wine, two barrels of ale; 40 potted plants of various healing herbs, two of roses; 40 skeins of different coloured yarn, two coils of rope, 40 craft implements of various sizes that Clarke didn’t know what they were for, two spinning wheels. Clarke was about to get snippy and send most of them back until she realised what had probably happened.

As the village leader, Marta and Megan’s father probably knew what was going to happen and this was his way of contributing the well being of his daughters. Clarke guessed none of his other family had been offered places in the other bunkers and this was all he could do to protect his legacy. Instead of sending a snippy reply with the Delfikru driver of the cart, Clarke said “Thank your Chief for the blessed gifts of his beautiful and learned daughters, and for these gifts that will be treasured and appreciated by those who live in Mt Orlan.”

Other gifts for Mt Orlan were the arrival of cart after cart carrying various pieces of old tech. There was no way they would be able to fit it all inside the mountain so Raven blasted a hole at the bottom of a cliff face and had it all taken there. The death wave would go over the top of the cliff, probably sending a rock slide that they would have to clear, but it would be kept safe there unless the heat caused it all to melt, but it would still be useful. Raven alerted her people of the things she would particularly like to keep in the bunker, but otherwise, unless they saw something that they knew would be particularly useful, to try to store it safely.

Jackson told Clarke that if they were going to perform an organ transplant for Philip Rhodes it would have to be soon. Although he was travelling on one of the last convoys heading for Areasi, Jackson thought that he ought to be at Mt Orlan at least for part of the post op recovery. Clarke agreed.

Clarke radioed Areasi and asked to speak to Clint. She told Clint that Pike was still showing no signs of recovery and they wanted to consider transplanting his digestive organs into Phillip Rhodes because otherwise Rhodes would soon die, “Six months, a year at most” Clarke said, but by then it would be too late because once the death wave hit them the med bay would lose all power so Pike would die anyway.

Clint’s reply was not a surprise. “As long as you promise that it’s for one of us and not for one of those grounders then I think he would be happy for that to happen, to save of his own people.”

“It is definitely for Philip Rhodes, but I haven’t asked him yet and he might say that the risk isn’t worth the six to twelve months that he would lose if it all went wrong. I’ll let you know.”

Rhodes was sceptical about the operation. Clarke and Jackson were honest about the prognosis, both with the transplant and without. He needed a few days to think about it.

In the end it was Bellamy who convinced him to go ahead with the operation. Bellamy agreed that if the worst happened and Rhodes died, then he would adopt and love Ben as his own; which would be so easy to do since he was an adorable boy and Rhodes must be so proud of him. In the meantime, while Rhodes was still in the med bay, Bellamy would temporarily move into their rooms.

Soon everyone seemed to know what was happening. There was a sombre atmosphere about the mountain because everyone knew that it was a difficult operation and would be a risk. The Azgedans found it strange that the sky people thought that there was any doubt that Wanheda would not pull it off because she did, after all, command death itself.

“No one can command death” Raven said a little exasperated on overhearing one of the Azgedans talk. “Clarke is very good at fighting off death, cajoling it to leave, begging it, even arguing with it until it gives up in exhaustion for a while, but sooner or later death will always win. Philip Rhodes should have died in the acid fog half a year ago. Clarke has kept him alive all this time so that his son can grow in confidence, so that if death decides not to give up this time Rhodes can die knowing that his son will be loved and will flourish, despite the hardships that many think he will face. Clarke is a mere human who knows how to fight death but even the best of fighters lose sometimes so, please, do not put all that expectation on to her shoulders: they carry enough weight as it is.”

“As always, you are right, Tekheda” Ashton said. “It is not just your tek that makes you and Wanheda so good at what you do, is it?”

“No, it is our brains, too” Raven smirked at the red head. “Even if our bodies gave out on us, we would still have our brains and would still be awesome. Isn’t that right, Luna?” Raven brought someone else into the conversation.

“I know that Lexa certainly thinks so and is very grateful to the advice and help that you and Wanheda have given her over the past few months. Echo isn’t so sure though, she thinks that it is your good looks that have somehow hypnotised us all into thinking you are so wise. She also thinks that you need to start training because you currently could not fight your way out of a nursery” Luna added, causing the other warriors there to start smirking and going on about how the sky people were useless without their tek.

“Okay, a bet” Raven said. “How about, once the doors are sealed and everything has settled down, we set Octavia and Clarke against any of your two. No, we should set up an Olympic Games; I’ll talk to Cole and Marrietta into organising something, wrestling, archery, fencing, all sorts. We know you’ll win everything that is strength based, but things that need a bit of brains to work, we’ve got it in the bag. You continue to exercise your bodies, and I admit some of them are very nice, while I go and exercise my brain. See ya” and Raven walked off sure that she was noticed by the one Lincoln thinks is for her, even if she didn’t know who that one might be yet.

Clarke and Jackson were elbows deep in intestines, watched through screens in Polis by Costia, Maya and Nyko and on the ARC by Abby and the remaining medical team, when Roan and his team arrived back at the mountain. They were met by Bree who told them of their new accommodations and that all their belongings had been moved. “Now that we have more people I’ve given you two a smaller, single room each, for the time being” Bree said to Roan and Echo. “They’re right next to Raven and Clarke’s, and Bellamy’s that he is hardly ever in. I must do something about that.” Bree then looked to Octavia and Lincoln: “You two have a larger room, not much bigger than a small single, but it does have a bigger bed. It used to be Roan’s and yes, we’ve changed the bedding. No idea what these will do when the time comes” Bree made clear that she meant when the time comes that they match up with someone, “but at least that’s a problem for another day”.

The operation on Rhodes was deemed a success in so far as he was still alive when he was closed up and showed no signs of rejection. It was now a waiting game. Waiting to see if Rhodes’s body realised that there were some foreign objects inside it and want to get rid of them, or if it thought they were better than the original and decided to keep them. Clarke hoped that the black blood would somehow offer protection from organ rejection as well as so many other things. Thankfully Raven had the idea that they should record in black and white, it improves definition, apparently, and would prevent the ARC from seeing Rhodes’s black blood.

“Are you ever going to tell me about the black blood thing, Clarke?” Jackson asked.

“I don’t think you would believe me if I told you, to be honest” Clarke sighed, but she knew she had to say something. “Do you remember ever hearing stories of a thirteenth station, Polaris?” On seeing Jackson’s negative shake of his head Clarke explained. “The lead scientist on Polaris, Becca Franco, invented a serum to give to deep space explorers to give protection from the increased radiation. The only problem, it turns the blood black. When Becca saw what was happening with the bombs she knew her serum would be needed but the other 12 stations wouldn’t let her go. Becca used an escape pod to bring the serum to earth just as the Polaris station was blown out of the sky. Only night bloods, which is what the people of the coalition call it, can be the Commander. No one outside of perhaps a few of us in here knows that the black blood helps the body in all sorts of ways: for one it cured Beppi’s cancer; and it aids recovery from injuries, which is probably why the black bloods rose to the top in the violence riddled life that the grounders lived when fighting for the scarce resources after a nuclear apocalypse. I can’t tell you how I came to have black blood” Clarke was as honest as she could be. “The day after we landed down here I pricked my finger and discovered it. I realised that I was healing quickly from my wounds and I wondered if it would help Beppi. I talked to him about it and asked if he wanted me to try to make him a black blood to see if it would help him. I said it was purely experimental and I did not know what the effect would be. Beppi pointed out that either way he was dead. Without the risk he wouldn’t live to see snow, and he so wanted to do that so we tried a bone marrow transplant with Raven drilling into my hip. It worked. When Rhodes looked like he was going to die from his injuries, we tried again. The thing is, we don’t know what the long term implications are since no one of the Coalition with it has died of old age, they were all killed in combat which is why we only use it if we think death is the alternative. We decided to give it to a few others so we would always have a base in case it was needed in the future, but only in extremis. I haven’t said anything to anyone from the ARC partly because I don’t want to know if I was for some reason injected with it as an experiment without my knowledge or consent while I was unconscious and being placed in the drop ship. If I was, I don’t want them to know it worked. If I wasn’t, I don’t want them to start thinking they should experiment on me. ”

“Is that one of the reasons you are all about informed patient consent?”

Clarke thought back to Luna’s forcible donations and ‘Not Bayliss’s’ forced testing. “I guess it is a part, but I’m not sure how big a part” Clarke finally conceded.

After three weeks, Philip Rhodes was still alive and showed no sign of organ rejection. He was allowed to return to his room and slowly take up a normal life. Luna and one of her children who said she wanted to be healer said they would take on the task of making sure that he didn’t do too much and went to all his check ups until he was discharged.

The next upsetting happening was the arrival of Leah’s baby. Everyone thought that it would be a joyous occasion but he was born with a club foot. Leah and her friends all wanted to leave him outside to the forest. Clarke, Bellamy and Jackson refused point blank.

“This is a healthy baby. There is no reason to let him die” Clarke insisted.

“He is friekdriena and should not be allowed to live, Wanheda” Jass was severe, sad, but very adamant.

“If Leah does not want him, I will find new parents for him: ones who will love and cherish him because there will be times that the steps taken to heal his foot will hurt. But if I do that, once he is handed over to new parents, Leah cannot change her mind and suddenly want him back. If she is unable to stay here in the same clan as the son she does not want, it is not he who will be leaving” Clarke was equally adamant.

Clarke arranged for formula to be given to the baby and for him to be removed from the med centre and taken to a place of safety.

“We might have to operate to make it completely better, but in any case, he should be fine with casting and proper footwear” Jackson sighed as he tried to remember that people were brought up to have different values and it was not his place to castigate anyone for the beliefs they were brought up with. He much preferred the ethos that Clarke and Bellamy insisted they live by than that of the ARC or what he knew of the grounders. Jackson decided that it was time for him to have a catch up chat with Abby; let her know that Rhodes is being allowed to his rooms and to talk about the club foot. Abby might have some ideas about the type of treatment that would be best.

Leah said through Jass that if she had more time to see that all would be well, she would be able to love her boy and defend him from the bullying he would receive, but she does not yet know how to do that. She is sorry to let everyone down, but she is not able to keep him. If Wanheda required her to leave, then Leah would leave.

“I don’t want you to leave, Leah” Clarke said sadly. “I don’t want you to be hurt when in three years’ time you see a little boy running around and know that he is beautiful and perfect and you threw him away. Can you live here knowing that the son you gave birth to is being loved and brought up by someone else?”

“He is not my son” Leah said, in English.

Clarke conferred with Roan, Echo, Jass and Luna and all agreed that it would be too soon for Leah to love and accept a child who was not physically perfect. Luna asked if she could become the boy’s nomon. No one had any objections so Luna adopted a little boy who would need medical intervention of some sort or another for a number of years and called him Derek, after her chosen who died before they reached Mt Orlan.

It seemed that the war against Azgeda was won, but the war against disability bias was still alive and kicking and Clarke had to remind herself that it was unreasonable to expect a life time’s of conditioning to be turned upside down in so short a time. Once they sealed the doors they would have five years to gently turn such thoughts away.  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think Clarke would be concerned that if the baby wasn't immediately taken away that somehow Leah, Jass and any others who felt the same way, would ensure that he did not survive. It is very hard to go against everything that one has been brought up to believe.  
Luna, at least, has learned a valuable lesson.


	25. Final Preparations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Praimfaya is almost upon them. It is their last chance to make sure do all they can to make sure as many people as possible survive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm introducing a new character here who will play an important role in the years ahead, I'll leave it to you to decide if it's good or bad: plus, an old friend comes back to them.

With the arrival of black rain all the animals had to be brought into the bunker. The larger animals did not like it so Zoe, after talking to Lincoln and Marta and Megan, decided that they would all go outside for a while each day whenever it was possible. They settled quicker inside after that so it was hoped that they would not be so restless when the doors were sealed. 

Travel for Skaikru was now always by vehicle, and the motorbikes were also put away in the mountain’s garage. 

Anya, accompanied by three fierce looking warriors, came to Mt Orlan looking uncomfortable, awkward yet eager all at the same time. Anya requested a meeting with Wanheda and her Sekheda. Everyone knew that Clarke was often referred to as Wanheda, so they knew that Anya meant Clarke and guessed that Sekheda meant Bellamy.

Cole asked if they would like to wait inside, in comfort, or in the external meeting room while Clarke and Bellamy were called. Anya thought for a moment before saying that she would wait wherever it was most convenient. Cole knew to translate that as the Trikru woman wanted something. He suggested they wait in the outside meeting room since everyone wanted to spend as much time as possible outside while they could. Anya nodded her agreement and followed where Cole indicated they should walk.

“May I ask for some refreshments to be brought for you?” Cole asked, remembering his manners.

“Thank you, we shall partake only once our business is completed” Anya prevaricated.

Clarke and Bellamy entered the cosy cabin to be met by a worried friend.

“Anya, it is good to see you” Clarke began; “but what could not be said over the radio?”

Anya turned and put her impassive leader of Trikru face on. “I thank you for seeing me, Wanheda Clarke and Sekheda Bellamy of the Sky People of Mt Orlan; I come to request, beg for your aid for my people.”

“Of-course we will help if we can, Anya” Bellamy said. “Why don’t we sit so you can tell us how we can help?”

Clarke, Bellamy and Anya sat on three of the seats around a low table while the warriors moved to wait outside.

“As you know, just over 200 of my people will be offered sanctuary against the forthcoming praimfaya, the rest will perish. We know and accept this. We have all sacrificed for our people to survive and have contributed to the stores of food and supplies to help the chosen. We also had to send many of our usual warrior hunters to the battle against Azgeda so that stores could not be replenished. That means that there is little for my people to eat now. It may be that since they are to die anyway that it is pointless to waste resources on them, but I do not wish their final days to be spent feeling hunger. I should like to make their last days as comfortable as possible. If there is anything that I or my people can give you in exchange for food, we shall gladly do so.”

Clarke and Bellamy said that they wished to confer with some people about how much they could spare and if they could speed up their own food production and invited Anya to wait a short while.

“I agree that if people are going to die we don’t want them to die hungry” Clarke said.

“Yeah, but we don’t put ourselves at risk” Bellamy reminded Clarke.

“Let’s see if Farm, Kitchen, Luna and Roan have any ideas” Clarke suggested.

“Let them bring a small cohort here and I will lead them into drag fishing” Luna suggested. “One day of fishing will provide enough fish to feed everyone left in Trikru for a day. If they stay for three days it will help build up their stores”

“I suggest giving them a load of algae bars” Murphy suggested. “They can give them to the ones who will survive so they eat the gross food and let those who will die eat the good stuff.”

Clarke and Bellamy agreed and Murphy went to get as many as he thought Mt Orlan could easily spare.

“We need a blacksmith” Roan said. “We can either increase our clan and have a smith stay with us, with their family, or bargain for lessons for a couple of people here. With the ending of winter, more animals are out and about so we can basically hunt until there is nothing left to hunt. I can lead a group into Azgedan lands, there are no big hunters left to stop us if we keep close to the borders of Delfikru. I know where to get bears. We keep the skins, they keep the meat. We would be gone for ten days and we will need some carts to pull home the carcasses.”

“With the extra rabbits and hens we’ve been given we can spare some, 20 of each easily, and it’s probably as well to get rid of some of them actually since they’ll be using oxygen, and we won’t need to eat them for years which will give them time to repopulate. I’ll go talk to Zoe to see what she suggests” Stefan said.

Clarke and Bellamy then went to talk to Bree about accommodation. There was one large family suite that was unallocated; a couple of rooms that could be regarded as doubles or small family rooms and some rooms used for storage that could be made into bedrooms. They could not, however, assume that there would be no further births over the next five years so they didn’t think that they should fill up to capacity before hand.

Bellamy and Clarke called for the current Department Chiefs to meet briefly and discuss the situation. They all agreed with everything said, the only issue they needed to decide was whether or not to offer a place to a blacksmith to live with them and change their clan loyalty. 

Bellamy and Clarke went back to join Anya. Bellamy carried a tray of fruit cordial for them to drink as they talked and Clarke took a single algae bar. When Bellamy and Clarke entered the cabin, the warriors once again left. Clarke called to them to let them know that some people would have to enter to give some information at certain points.

Bellamy placed a beaker of cordial in front each of them and Clarke broke the algae bar into pieces and placed in in the middle of the table.

“Please, choose a piece and give it to me” Clarke said indicating the algae. Anya did as requested and Clarke ate the piece and pulled a face. “It’s disgusting” she said grateful that Anya chose a small piece. “It tastes awful, but two bars of that contain enough nutrients that I could eat that and nothing else and remain completely healthy. I would still need to drink, though.”

“Why are you telling me this?” Anya asked.

“We can offer you so many bars of it, someone is checking as to how many. In your position we would give it to those who had been offered places in the bunker so that they remain healthy; no one, no matter how large or active, would need more than three a day, and leave the tasty food to those being left behind” Bellamy said as he, too, took a small piece to eat, pulling a face as he did so.

Anya took the smallest piece there and ate it, agreeing that it was disgusting, but if it kept people healthy until they were in their sanctuary then they should be happy to make the sacrifice for those being left behind. Anya thanked them and accepted the offer.

“Luna was about to start dragging the reservoir to put fish into the false river we have made. She has agreed that some of your people could help with the drag and in exchange you get half of the fish caught” Clarke offered.

“What will you do with half of the fish caught? Your false river can only house so many” Anya pointed out.

“Agreed, so we take half of the fish caught until we reach the limit that we can take and then take one quarter that your people help prepare for our kitchen to cook or to dry” Clarke countered.

Anya agreed.

“Roan has said that if you can gather a party of five strong hunter warriors, and some carts, he will lead the team into the bear hunting grounds in Azgeda that are close to the Delfikru borders. He says that he does not believe that there is anyone left in Azgeda who could get to these particular hunting grounds. Roan thinks they could be gone for up to ten days. He suggested you keep all the meat, and we keep the furs” Bellamy said. “We don’t have any carts, but we could make one or two if you can’t provide them. It would be better if the party could leave sooner rather than later. I don’t want to emphasise that Roan is now one of ours and if he does not come back in as good a condition as he leaves, we will take appropriate action.”

“I will make sure my people know” Anya agreed.

“We were going to cull some of our chickens and rabbits. Instead, we can give them to you if you return their feathers and fur. Someone will come to let us know the numbers shortly. Our people don’t know they were going to have roast chicken so they won’t miss it” Clarke said.

“Thank you. Now what can we offer in return for your generosity?” Anya asked and waited to be told that Skaikru required nothing from them; but she was surprised, pleasantly so.

“We need a smith, someone who can make weapons and horse shoes” Bellamy said. “There are two ways whereby we get what we need, we’ll leave it to you decide which way to choose.”

Anya nodded her acceptance of the offer. It was Clarke who explained the two options.

“We could receive lessons from one of your smiths; we will need at least two people to be trained. The other option is that one of your smiths, with their family, swear fealty to Bellamy and myself, renounce their tie to Trikru and become one of us. We can take up to three adults and two children, maximum, but we want them to be family so the family become part of us. It would be harder if, say, two smiths join us but had to leave their families behind. We would rather have one smith with a trainee and they be happy to be with us.”

Anya thought: “I know of three smiths who have not been chosen; one of them made your swords, Wanheda. I shall speak to him first and then let you know.”

The deal was struck.

It turned out that Ryan, the smith who made Clarke’s swords agreed that he, his pregnant wife who was a metal jewellery maker, and their son who was training to be a smith, would forsake their Trikru loyalties for Skaikru of Mt Orlan, but only after praimfaya, in case an error had been made and it would be possible to return to their people. In any case, he agreed to provide lessons to two chosen by Wanheda.

All of those steps combined meant that the people of Trikru who would be left to die, would do so in comfort. They were grateful.

Clarke and Bellamy were then greeted by the news that the oldest of the people from the WH and CD bunkers had declared that they were going to stay outside. “We were born in a bunker and lived practically our whole lives locked up in a bunker; we have no wish to die in a bunker and given our age, it is a distinct possibility” Elizabeth declared on behalf of the four of them. Alicia tried to talk her mother into changing her mind, but Isabella was adamant. She wanted to be outside as long as possible.

Clarke called Anya and told her about the four and Anya offered the option that Clarke was hoping for. If Mt Orlan would take four children, not orphans, but two pairs of young siblings the four from Mt Orlan would be treated as honoured guests by the whole village of TonDC right to the end. 

Clarke confirmed with Bellamy and Luna that they were agreeable to having the additional responsibility, and with George, Elizabeth, Edward and Isabella that they were content to spend their last days with Trikru. That done the tearful farewells were said and the formal exchange was made. It turned out that one of the pair of siblings had an older sister as well who was not included, but Clarke agreed that four children would not consume as much as four adults (Clarke knew it was untrue because the older children would use a lot more resources than an elderly adult) so they would have room for one more child. Luna and Roan, who both knew the reasoning was bull, did nothing but shake their heads in rueful acceptance.

When they made the final trip to Areasi, they were seen off with a feast. As expected, Branch was offered a place in Areasi but Aiden made him swear that if the Commander so deemed, after the people were released, he would beg for sanctuary with Mt Orlan. The death wave would hit Areasi after Polis and Mt Orlan and the farewells were said with a little fear. There was hope that they would all meet again, but there were no guarantees. 

The truck that had been left previously was driven back to Mt Orlan, and a rover, which could fit in the lift and be secure through the death wave, was left in its stead. Clarke and Bellamy agreed that once all the doors were opened and everyone had been taken to their place of settlement that they would also leave a truck with Areasi, and perhaps one motorbike. With the people and resources they would have, if they wanted more vehicles they could make them. Raven said that if she had some spare time she might like to have a go at building a bike since she preferred motorised transportation to horses.

Final checks were made on all the vehicles. Bellamy insisted that they should all be fully charged so that when the time came to make contact with Polis there would be no problem with getting there. Raven added that all portable tech should also be fully charged, especially the portable lights.

Water barrels were placed in the temporary accommodations and screens were put up for a degree of privacy when toileting. The rations for the animals and humans were placed near to the doors so they could quickly be brought in at the final moment. The children’s beds were prepared, but the adults would have to take what they were sleeping on with them.

There were reports of fighting in Polis so the Commander ordered everyone allocated a place into the bunker and the bunker was sealed. Wick said that it gave him plenty of time to ensure that the additional seal would hold, so he was happy. Most others just grumbled about the extra week locked up when they shouldn’t need to be. The Commander came down heavy on that train of thought. She pointed out that the people who did not have a place would die, as would all their friends and family. The people saved needed to be grateful.

Although the disturbances in Ton DC were not too bad, it was agreed that the bunker there would be sealed too. Camp David followed suit in case of incursions from the people of Azgeda.

Camp David radioed to warn Mt Orlan that two men were headed their way from Azgeda. The men were walking upright and steady. A watch was kept out for them.

Before the two men arrived a lone woman turned up. It was Raven, who happened to be in the Control Room, who recognised her: Emori.

Clarke and Raven rushed out to greet her and to help her into the med bay so she could be treated with blue prussion or black blood if it was necessary, for the radiation sickness she was clearly suffering with. Octavia, who did not know Emori at all, and Echo who was still a red blood waited in the med bay for them.

Emori was suffering more from exhaustion than radiation sickness because she had already been taking blue prussion prophylactically. 

“How?” Clarke asked. “How did you know what to take and where did you get it from?”

“ALIE” Emori shocked them all. “I was staying on the island to make sure no one else came to open up the whole City of Light fiasco. When ALIE realised that no one was coming we became quite close. I did think of preparing to spend the five years in the lighthouse bunker but the idea of being on my own for all that time was too daunting. I persuaded ALIE to hack into your radio conversations and realised that this was the place to be. I take it we are the only ones who know?” Emori indicated the group.

“No” Octavia replied. “There’s two, Costia and Maya who are in Polis who also remember, and Bellamy who we have told.”

“A few others know we know something but don’t know what or how. Raven had told them that it’s due to our superior brain power” Clarke smirked.

“Rumours of the power of Wanheda have reached the dead zone so I’m sure that it’s not all prior knowledge” Emori said. “What about John?”

“He’s not the same as he was in the previous life” Raven said. “None of us are really, but other than Echo, I would say he is probably the most different. You might find yourself mourning for your John, but get to know this one and you might be surprised”

“It’s partly luck that I came back as a black blood again and that Raven and Bellamy were able to ensure that I had access to a whole lot of medical texts that I had not yet studied that allowed me to be as effective as I was” Clarke said to explain Emori's earlier point. “Come on, let’s get you to Bree to find you somewhere to bunk down and let’s go and see who the two men heading our way are. But first, I need a blood sample so that I can make it look like I followed our normal protocol for letting in newbies.” Clarke drew a small blood sample and put it through the mass spec.

“You will be pleased to know that you will soon be able to stop taking the blue prussion, two more doses should be enough, and that although a little dehydrated, you are fine” Clarke said as the group left the med bay to get Emori a drink of water as they went to see who else was coming to see them.

“I do not believe it!” Clarke exclaimed. “I was freaking joking when I suggested he come here. Dammit!” Clarke picked up the radio and called Polis demanding to speak to the Commander.

“Yes, Wanheda; what can I do for you?” the Commander asked.

“You know damn well I was joking when I suggested you send Titus to us” Clarke was cross.

“Yes, Wanheda, I do” the Commander agreed.

“Then why is he and another man heading straight for us?” Clarke demanded.

There was a few moments of silence. Clarke wondered if it was because of surprise or to allow the Commander time to control her mirth. “To be honest, Wanheda, I do not know” the Commander sounded genuinely surprised. “Perhaps once he has arrived you will allow him to talk to me?”

“Yeah, I guess, of-course I will. I had better go and prepare to greet our two new arrivals. Sorry to have disturbed you” Clarke was a little flustered.

“No, I understand that his arrival is a surprise. I shall await his explanation.”

Titus and his companion were greeted almost the same way that Jass, Leah and co were. They were told to raise their hands and strip themselves of their outerwear. Instead of being taken to their external accommodations they were led to the decontamination chambers. Clarke, with four gun wielding guards all suited, waited for them on the other side of the chamber while Bellamy led a contingent to collect and examine their clothes.

“There is a set of clothes for you each to put on. Please move slowly so that no one has a reason to think they need to defend me and shoot you” Clarke said indicating the clothes.

Titus and his companion smirked at each other and did what they were asked.

“Now I am going to take a sample of your blood to test to make sure that you are not carrying any infections that could harm us in any way. Hold out one of your arms and keep still. You will feel the needle but it shouldn’t hurt” Clarke directed.

Still smirking, Titus and his companion did as directed. Clarke took the blood and carried out the same tests as she did on Emori.

Clarke removed her suit and went to get the medication for the men. “You are both suffering a little from radiation sickness, but it’s not too bad. Take one of these now, and other before bed and another first thing in the morning. Since you are both stuck here now I will need to arrange some accommodations for you, but please, Titus, won’t you perform the introductions before I take you to the Control Room so you can speak with the Commander?”

“Wanheda Clarke kom Skaikru, I would like you to meet Prince Routh, younger brother of King Roan formerly of Azgeda. I hope I was not wrong in assuming that you would offer sanctuary to the King's brother?” Titus arrogantly asked.

Clarke looked over Routh and decided she could see the family resemblance and wondered why Roan had not mentioned his brother before. “Right, before we go any further, let me tell you how we do things in here” Clarke said. “One, there are no titles other than those that are earned from work, usually Chief and DC, or Deputy Chief. You may occasionally hear me referred to as ‘Princess’: it is not a complement so don’t refer to yourself as a prince. Secondly, everyone works and that will include you, Titus. Sometimes jobs are allocated because someone has to do it and it’s just your turn. You want to be fed, clothed and housed suck it up and just get on with it. The worst jobs are usually done as punishments so no one has to do them for very long before someone breaks a rule and has to take over. Thirdly, Bellamy and myself are in charge. If you don’t like the way we do something, or can think of a better way, talk to your DC or Bellamy. No major changes are made without a vote. Fourthly, when the death wave hits we are going to suffer for about three days before we get power back. Don’t bother complaining about it because there is nothing we can do and it will only make people not like you. Finally, I’ll have someone take you, Titus, to speak to the Commander, and I’ll take you, Routh to see your brother.”

Clarke went to look for Roan in the Training Room, for that is where he is usually to be found outside meal and bed times, but he was not there. Routh looked around in awe at the facilities knowing it would take him some time to be able to find his way around the metal maze. Routh recognised one of the men in the room: “Gordon!” he called.

Gordon turned to look at the intruder and Clarke muttered loud enough for Routh to hear “Don’t call out when people are training unless it is pre-arranged with a trainer, it could lead to an accident for beginners”.

“Sorry” Routh muttered because it was true, and something he knew.

Gordon walked over to Clarke and Routh and bowed his head: “Your Highness” he said, clearly surprised at who he was seeing.

“I understand that there are no titles here unless earned through work, so I’m afraid I am just plain Routh. Do you know where Roan is?”

“Yes, Your, Routh. Roan is actually looking for Clarke. He wanted to show her his latest success” Gordon said, forgetting about the rudeness of talking about someone in the third person while in their presence; due no doubt to his surprise at seeing Routh.

“Right, then I better make sure to see it. Routh, can you keep out of sight until I see what he wants me to see, please?” And without waiting to see that her request was followed, Clarke went to the intercom and said “Roan, Gordon said you wanted to see me. I’ll wait for you in the Training Room.” She knew he would know it was her.

Roan stormed into the room with a big grin on his face. He was clearly proud of what he had accomplished. “I was able to do it three times in a row so I think I can safely say, challenge met” Roan boasted.

“Should I ask Echo and Lincoln to come see, too?” Clarke asked.

“Yes, and Octavia and Raven. Bellamy too since he was so sure I wouldn’t do it. I’ll have to decide what to ask from him as penance when he sees he’s lost his bet. Echo saw me do it twice, but she disappeared somewhere when someone turned up” he added.

“Yeah, I know, she’ll probably come too since we won’t want to leave her on her own when she’s just arrived” Clarke said as she called for her friends to attend.

Soon there was a small crowd in the Training Room and Roan stripped is outer shirt off. Clarke heard the inhaled breath, probably from Routh who would not be aware of Roan’s arm. The blade on Roan’s arm was opened and a special guard put on so that the damage it would have caused unguarded could be seen but it would not actually hurt while training, and his hand was replaced with a special soft training hand.

When Roan was ready Echo went to lay on the floor and a fake fight broke out. Clarke paid particular attention to Roan’s blade guard and the areas it struck. It was clear that some of Roan’s victims fought on even though in a real battle they would be dead.

Suddenly Gordon called out “Freeze” and everyone did just that. Gordon went to remove Roan’s blade guard and when back on the outside called “Continue”.

Roan pushed his blade down, bent down to scoop up Echo, throw her over his shoulder, and fought his way out of the melee.

A spontaneous round of applause broke out. “Oh well done Roan” Clarke said. “I knew you would be able to do it. You even managed to fight off two or three dead people.”

On being asked what she meant, Clarke walked up to the one with the red line across his throat and drawing her finger along the mark said “You would have bled out in seconds”; to one who had a deep red, wide mark across his upper arm she said “without treatment, including a blood transfusion within two minutes you would have bled out. Your arm would have lost all strength with 45 seconds”; and to the other with a fainter, shorter mark on the forearm Clarke said “depending on exactly where your brachial artery is, and I would have to check, you would either be the same as Broxton, or you would be lucky. Anyway, now that you can do that, and I know you can ride a horse, I’m going to have to think up another, no wait, I know what the next challenge is” and Clarke paused for dramatic effect.

“I’m not going to like this, am I?” Roan said with a resigned smile.

“You have to shave! And when you do that with no nicks, you can be fitted for proper boots that you will have five years to learn how to tie!” Clarke laughed. 

“I don’t know if you were always this bossy, but hell, I feel sorry for poor Wells” Roan grumbled.

Some of the crowd left the room as Routh was recognised by some and led away before they could start talking. When only a few remained and it was impossible to hide the large man, Clarke drew Roan’s attention to the newcomer. “How come you didn’t tell me you had a brother?”

“Routh? Is it really you? Nia said you were dead!” Roan said explaining Clarke not knowing.

“Yeah, she told me the same about you” Routh said, not looking as pleased as Roan. “I guess I see why she thought you were dead, you should have been.”

Roan’s pleased smile dropped. Clarke’s anger grew. Gordon’s chagrin blossomed. And Echo’s fist made a deep impression on Routh’s face.

“Change the hand back” Clarke said to Roan. He did.

“I clearly missed something when I ran through a few things earlier” Clarke gritted to Routh. “Here, you treat everyone with respect, regardless of your personal feelings about them. If someone has no arm, or no leg, a deformed arm, or a deformed leg, or if someone has learning difficulties, or if someone has red blood, black blood, red hair or black hair, everyone is worthy of respect and will receive it. Now, if you and Roan want to get reacquainted over a bout of fisticuffs, you may do so here, in this room. This is the only room in the building where fighting is allowed, hence the only reason why Echo isn’t put on report. Since you were not aware of the rule, I shall not put you on report either, but don’t push it. Echo, Gordon, are there any rules in Azgeda about an unarmed fight that is solely for the purpose of relieving tension?”

“No, Wanheda; you may set your own rules” Echo said.

“Very well, until one is knocked out or half a unit of blood spilt, or 15 minutes, whichever comes first” Clarke went to set the timer. “Roan, Routh, when the alarm goes off, you stop fighting if one of the other condition has not been met. Breaking the rule means you go on report which means that you get latrine duty during the power outage.”

“I thought you sky people had a thing about cruel and unusual punishments” Echo muttered.

“Yeah, we do” Clarke agreed. “We don’t like cruel, but we’re all for unusual. Anyway, I’m pretty sure that a broken nose will make it easier for them compared to the uninjured.”

Routh didn’t seem to think that Roan’s false arm was worthy of anything but the most scathing of glances. It took only one punch from Roan to knock him out.

“Well, that was a little anticlimactic” Clarke said.

“How did he get here?” Roan asked.

“Titus brought him” Clarke responded. “The Commander sent him, Titus, to try to establish some form of leadership to help the people of Azgeda through the end. I wanted to suggest you go but she made it clear that Azgeda would not be allowed back into the coalition until after priamfaya, if any survived, and I knew that if you were pronounced King you would do all that you could to save as many of your people as you could, even at the expense of the people of the other clans. You may have been able to save some in the Camp David bunker, but everywhere else would have been locked down immediately. I couldn’t risk that.”

“So you made the decision to let my people die when I might have been able to save some of them?” Roan was angry.

“Yes” Clarke was sorry for the pain it caused Roan, but not for making the decision. “This way 24 of you definitely survive. It is possible that you would have lost everyone otherwise.”

“You had no right to make that decision for me, Wanheda!” Roan growled.

“I know” Clarke acknowledged and stood as tall as she could to face the angry, betrayed would be king.

With a scathing look at the one who Roan knew had done him a favour, not that he would admit it any time soon, he stormed out of the room to head for a long, hot shower.

“That went well” Echo said. “Any idea on where you want the new people to be housed? Bree wants some guidance on where they belong.”

“Put Routh in Bogdov’s bed; tell Bellamy to move in with Marta and Megan and give his room to Emori and Titus belongs with the orphans and their guardians” Clarke advised. “Can you ask Bree to make sure that they all have the same as everyone else and if someone can make sure they know how to use the facilities and how to get their food as well, please?”

Echo gave a nod and went to relay the information, leaving Clarke alone with Routh.

Clarke checked Routh and decided that he should be fine and sat down to wait.

After a few minutes Routh began to stir. Clarke got him some water, helped support his head and held the cup for him to drink. Once Routh was really awake, Clarke checked his pupils, asked him some questions and declared him well enough to get up.

“It never occurred to me that he would be able to punch with that false arm” Routh said as an opening comment.

“Did you not watch what he was doing with that arm during that training exercise? If it had been his left arm that was poisoned instead of the right, there would be nothing that he could previously do that he would not be able to do now. The main problem has been getting Roan to think like a left handed person rather than right. The warriors with whom he trains regularly all think that he is a more effective fighter than before and no one in a long time has looked at him with anything less than respect and awe. That his own brother should do what you did instead being so glad that he is still alive is beyond my comprehension. I am telling you now, our head shoe maker has no legs, literally. I removed them after they were so damaged by the acid fog that the former mountain people sent. His insides up to his waist were so damaged that they barely worked. I saved him by removing the insides from someone who was brain dead and replacing the ones in him. That man has suffered unlike anything you have ever known and he is nothing but grateful to be alive. You look at him, or anyone here who is less than your idea of what a human should be, with anything but admiration and respect and I will make sure you regret it. Other than the baby, all the others who are less than physically perfect have proven their worth: you have not. Remember that. Come on, let me show you to your new accommodations. I’m sure Gordon will fill you in on everything else you need to know. Tomorrow you can make your apologies to your brother, even if you don’t say the words.”

Roan made a point of staying away from Clarke and her friends for the next few days. His sulk (and that is what it was, regardless of the reasons for it) had to come to a halt when the final preparations for the death wave were made. 

The younger children had moved into their temporary accommodations in the quarantine area. All children aged 12 or under were, in their words, having the longest, coolest sleep over ever. Marietta and Cole had consulted parents and guardians to plan their entertainment so that they did not become overly bored. The only problem that they foresaw was that exercise had to be kept to a minimum so that as little oxygen as possible was used. Clarke had the idea of mixing a small amount of sedative in with their water so that it would be easier for them. Bellamy was opposed, but he was the only one. When Aurora reminded Bellamy of how hard it was to keep Octavia calm and quiet he quickly changed his mind.

Cole, Marrietta, Rhodes, Aurora, Vincent and Beppi were the designated child minders.

People who wanted to speak to loved ones in the other bunkers had one day before they would lose contact for a while. Final goodbyes were said through the external loudspeaker system to everyone else, even though they wouldn’t hear. Final showers were had for a while. Raven, Emori, Octavia, Echo and Clarke were in the Control room with their camp beds and some portable oxygen canisters. Roan and Lincoln were going to join them but with Roan not speaking to them it was decided to make it an all girls’ event and Lincoln was informed that he had to make sure he and Roan bunked down with everyone else.

Lincoln decided to get straight to the point with his friend since he couldn’t really go anywhere else to get away from him. “Thanks to you I have now been separated from Octavia until the power comes back on. If we die here and I’m with you rather than Octavia I will make you very, very sorry. They’ve decided to make it a girls’ visit and for some reason the new one has joined them. What gives?”

Roan looked at Lincoln, the man who had become one of his closest friends and knew he trusted him enough to speak the truth.

“Clarke sent Bogdov with Titus to help form a leadership in Azgeda instead of me” Roan said.

“Yeah, I understand why that would piss you off; but I also understand why she would do that” Lincoln sympathised.

Roan snorted. “I do too. It doesn’t make me feel any better. I think for the first time since I met Clarke, I feel like she sees me as less. My head says she doesn’t, my heart, well …”.

“Yeah, the heart” Lincoln agreed. “What do you think about Bellamy and the twins?” Lincoln changed the subject.

“He has my sympathies. I couldn’t cope with two women” Roan replied.

“I couldn’t either. But then, think of the women. I think even Bellamy would agree that Octavia is more of a handful than Marta and Megan combined.”

“And he should know” Roan agreed. “What? Do you really think I don’t know that they are brother and sister and that no one is supposed to know about it because second children are against the law, or they were when they were in the sky? I don’t think anyone cares down here.”

“Maybe not in here, but if we needed to trade or anything with the others in Areasi then there might be problems if it got out. They could ask for compensation for all the oxygen she breathed, the space on the drop ship, punishment since the crime was committed against their laws when all the parties were still under their control” Lincoln was worried. “I have heard stories about how ruthless they are. If you don’t already know, ask Clarke about why she was a prisoner when she came to earth.”

“I didn’t know she was a prisoner” Roan exclaimed. How long was she imprisoned for?”

“More than a year. She was 16. Most of the original Skaikru were young prisoners. The ones chosen to come down were deemed expendable in case the earth was still irradiated because the 100 prisoners would have been executed as soon as they reached 18. There were also some orphans, which is why I think they value the orphans, and people who had used up all the medical treatment that they were allowed. Only Bellamy, Raven, Aurora and indirectly Octavia who was smuggled onto the ship and Philip Rhodes who wanted to accompany his son who was already at the medical treatment limit were not in effect sentenced to death. Now you know why they value every life – including yours.” Lincoln gave Roan a lot to think about.

“What were they all imprisoned for?” Roan persisted.

“I don’t know all their crimes. I do know that on the Arc all crimes carried the death penalty unless the perpetrator is under the age of 18 in which case they are imprisoned until they reach the age of 18 when they are executed. Some of the young people had been in prison for years. None of them were imprisoned for unmitigated murder, and I understand that causing another’s death even in your own self defence was classified as murder, nor for rape or serious assault. If Octavia had been discovered, Aurora would have been executed, Bellamy too, probably for aiding, and Octavia imprisoned until she was 18. By the laws of the Arc, at least two executions would have been called for.”

Lincoln’s words gave Roan much to think about. He didn’t know what Clarke’s crime was, but he thought it was probably giving medical treatment to someone who was not supposed to have it, or of something similar. If it was for theft, it would have been to give to someone in need, if it was for assault, it would have been in defence of someone else, and only in extremis in self-defence. Did Roan really want to know? Roan had to admit, even if only to himself, that he was curious; he did want to know what Clarke’s crime was.

Seeing Bellamy with Marta and Megan, Roan called him over to join him and Lincoln.

“Why was Clarke imprisoned?” Roan got to the point.

“She overheard her parents arguing about the fact that we were about to run out of oxygen and her dad wanted to let everyone know while her mom did not. Clarke asked why they couldn’t let everyone know, because she thought they all deserved to know. When the Council found out that Jake made a recording to tell everyone he was floated for Treason. For wanting to tell everyone Clarke was found guilty of Treason and placed in solitary confinement until she reached 18. The Council found out when Abby, Clarke’s mom and Jake’s wife, told them.”

Roan didn’t know what he thought about Bellamy’s words. He just did not understand such short sighted ruthlessness. “How long was Clarke in solitary?” he asked.

“Just over a year” Bellamy replied, a length of time that Roan was sure would drive most people to insanity.

“Why was the new woman invited to join them?” Lincoln asked.

Bellamy looked like he wanted to talk but didn’t know how to say it.

“You might as well tell us” Roan said. “Look we both know that something has been going on. First Echo and Costia become best friends and even Skaikru have got to understand how weird that is, then they get close to Wanheda, Tekheda, Octavia and Maya, to the point that Echo obeys Clarke’s command rather than her Queen’s or her Heda’s; and now there’s a new girl who has immediately been brought into the group. We know you know, and we want to know so tell us.”

“Okay, but if I get into trouble for this I’ll find a way to make you both pay so no telling anyone else, promise” Bellamy instructed and both Lincoln and Roan promised that they wouldn’t tell anyone else.

“You know how Octavia had to be kept a secret, well one day this strange young woman kept trying to talk to me. I thought that she was a spy because somehow we had made someone suspicious so I didn’t take Octavia to a masquerade party like I had intended. Octavia said that it was just as well because there was going to be a solar flare and all IDs would be checked. It turned out it was true. Then this strange woman, Raven, let me know that she knew about Octavia and wondered if I had been able to talk to Clarke who was in solitary. I hadn’t a clue as to what she was on about. I talked to Octavia about it and she was so excited that Raven knew about her and insisted I invited her back to our place.

“They both had the same memories of a previous life. Octavia inexplicably had tattoos on her arms and shoulders. Raven inexplicably had a bullet fragment in her hip. They both died in different circumstances in a death wave in this previous life. Raven had been talking to other people to try to find out if anyone else remembered, but no one did. So we concocted a plan to try to make things better than Octavia and Raven said they were before. When we were on the ship coming down to earth we discovered that Clarke remembered too. Echo and Costia came to visit us and said something that let Octavia know that they also remembered, and then when we attacked the mountain, Maya, who was originally from here, knew. They thought that was it until Emori just turned up who also knows. She didn’t come to us sooner because she was making sure that another disaster was averted not knowing that Clarke already had that in hand. We knew about this place and the Polis bunker, none of the others. In the previous life, no one we know survived the death wave. We don’t know what happened to anyone in the other bunkers” Bellamy finished.

“In this previous life how did Wanheda and I meet?” Roan asked.

“You kidnapped her” Bellamy said much to the amusement of the other two.

“I kidnapped her and we became friends?” Roan wanted to be sure he understood.

“Yeah, you apparently stabbed me in the leg when I tried to rescue her from you” Bellamy said. “Thanks for not doing that in this life. You were taking her to the Commander because like in this life, after the fall of Mt Weather, Clarke was dubbed Wanheda and there was a bounty on her head because everyone wanted her so called power. This time it seems only Queen Nia wanted it. Queen Nia was killed by the Commander in the fight, but instead of Ontari fighting for the Queen it, was you. Clarke always said that you didn’t really fight since you didn’t want your mother to control the whole of the coalition but instead of killing you Lexa killed your mother and pronounced you king. Ontari killed all the black blood children in their sleep like you predicted in this life, and Titus killed the Commander by accident when he tried to use a gun to kill Clarke and to blame it on Murphy. You were killed in a conclave to try to get control of the Polis bunker; Charles Pike, with my unwitting help, killed you, Lincoln. Octavia never forgave me, not even in this life, really.”

Roan and Lincoln thought about Bellamy’s words. It was Roan who asked “Were all the women friends in the previous life?”

Bellamy didn’t think he had heard anything so funny, ever. He laughed so hard he almost cried. “You’ll probably have to ask them to get the full answer, but here’s what I believe: Costia was killed before we landed, tortured and beheaded by Azgeda, Raven’s boyfriend came down in the drop ship without Raven before and didn’t tell anyone he was in a relationship and slept with Clarke. Raven being the enterprising young women she is, came down to earth in a stolen small space craft and broke Clarke’s heart when she discovered she had unwittingly become the ‘other woman’ and Raven’s when she learned there was another woman. It was an awful mess, I understand, that cumulated in Clarke killing Finn; Octavia was a brat who hated authority figures and in particular didn’t like some of Clarke’s choices; Maya helped us in the Mountain but Clarke and I killed her along with everyone else and she didn’t know the others; Echo tried to kill Octavia, nearly succeeded, too; she also wanted to and tried to kill Clarke but you wouldn’t let her; I don’t remember where Emori fits into the picture except she died with Raven, Echo, me and a few others. Suffice to say, no they were not all friends in the previous life.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Was Bellamy right to tell Roan and Lincoln? I actually think Clarke should have told them earlier
> 
> Next chapter the death wave passes over the mountain; Emori talks more about what happened to her; and everyone discovers how to live without the water in the reservoir.


	26. The Death Wave

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's finally happening: the death wave roars over the mountain and everyone hopes to survive its fire.
> 
> Some people are not happy with the work they are assigned while they are locked up in the bunker.

Everyone was in their temporary accommodation, all power, including life support, was switched off to the rest of the bunker. Those in the Control Room took one final look at the outside from the cameras: the orange death wave was in the distance, eating up everything in its path. If anyone had managed to survive to that point, they stood no chance against the wall of fire. The cameras were shut down and pulled in to safety.

Clarke took the mic and informed everyone that in a few minutes they would be living on emergency power only. That meant they all needed to conserve as much oxygen as they could by remaining calm and relaxed with no unnecessary physical exertion until full power was restored. Those whose task is was to make final preparations were to begin their final steps, checking water location, rations, and taking final roll calls. The adult animal carers were to be with their charges until after the wave had passed. There would be a few minutes after the power was switched to just emergency power before the death wave would pass over them. Everyone had done everything they could to keep all in Mt Orlan safe. “May we meet again” Clarke finished her announcement.

On hearing Clarke’s words, Roan accepted that it was possible that he would never get the chance to talk to Clarke again. He knew that it was possible for them all to die, that their preparations could all be for naught; but he had managed to forget the fact that Clarke had wanted him to live so much that she had asked Echo and Lincoln to track him down and bring him to the mountain; she risked his wrath after performing a near impossible surgery to save his life and somehow finding a way for him to keep his spirits and sanity. Clarke permitting Bogdov to die in his place was not an acceptable excuse to pull away from her friendship and to allow her to possibly die thinking he was angry with her. Roan wasn’t angry, no he was hurt: he was hurt that Clarke hadn’t talked to him about it before she made the decision; or even immediately afterwards. It was something that he knew he should talk to Clarke about, if they were ever given the chance. In the meantime, he would have to make do with his grumpy friend, Lincoln once he returned from helping keep the horses calm.

Raven waited as long as she felt able to shut down the power and bring in the wind turbines that had been at half station for the past few days, but she knew it was wrong to risk all their lives for an extra minute or two of power. Raven was confident that as long as everyone was sensible with their oxygen consumption, they would easily survive up to four days, or more, without any power being restored – as long as they had found and plugged all the gaps in the seals of the bunker that kept out the radiation.

Everyone knew when the wave passed over them: the mountain shook. The horses and other animals were spooked and all needed a gentle but firm hand to calm them. Breaths were held as everyone prayed and hoped that the monster roaring over them would not destroy their home, their haven. It didn’t.

Raven eyed the monitors noting the radiation levels, mainly inside the bunker, but one outside. The radiation inside was holding steady except for in the garage where the level had risen sharply. If anyone had stayed in there they would have died just as ‘not Bayliss’ died in the radiation chamber in the previous life; although it was possible that a black blood would have survived.

Once everything was settled and there was nothing more they could do for anyone except sit and wait Clarke asked Emori about her time with ALIE.

“It was actually quite fun” Emori said. “She taught me so much that even though my right hand is practically useless, I can still be a good mechanic or programmer. I know she was an AI but she came across as lonely and I had to promise that if we pulled through I would try to contact her, or at least visit afterwards.”

“No to the trying to contact her” Raven said, “she could get into and take over our computer system and I would rather she stayed exactly where she is.”

“That’s what I thought you would say” Emori smirked. “Otan didn’t like her, nor believe me about praimfaya” she carried on with a mixture of sadness and frustration in her voice; “ALIE tried to tell him the truth but he just said we were crazy. He left the island before the first snowfall and I never saw him again.

“ALIE wanted me to go to Polis to get the battery, or something, but I refused. She tried a bit of torture to persuade me to do otherwise but once I pointed out that if I left the island then there would be no way she could make sure I did as she wanted she gave up and just accepted my company. We talked about what I should do during the death wave and the aftermath, and like I said, I considered staying in the bunker there but I didn’t really want to be by myself if I didn’t need to. ALIE told me what to do to make the anti-radiation pills and how to protect myself from the black rain. I said that if I survived, as soon as it was safe, I would return for a visit. I didn’t say anything about trying to contact her even though she was positive that she would survive in the lab. I didn’t think to ask if she would survive only as a computer programme or if she would be able to project in the lab.”

“If we hadn’t taken this place I would probably have tried to get into the lab at the island” Raven said. “It’s probably just as well that I didn’t because ALIE would have then had a hostage or two to use to force someone to do what she wanted.”

The others nodded at that conclusion.

“When we wondered about others who might have remembered I said that you couldn’t have because I was positive that you would have come to find Murphy as soon as we landed if you had remembered” Clarke said. “I’m sorry that I didn’t think about you staying to make sure ALIE couldn’t populate the City of Light. I just thought that as long as Jaha didn’t go wandering there that it would be safe. Thank you for making sure and I’m glad you’re here with us now.”

“No worries, and you didn’t have to put yourself at risk to save me this time, but thank you for trying before, thank you for giving me, us, the chance and for not making me feel like the friekdrina” Emori finished with to snorts of amusement from the others.

“Actually” Octavia began, “here you are not very freakish at all. We have a man with no legs; we have a man with an arm made by Raven to replace the one that Clarke had to cut off; conjoined twins who have now been separated, a baby with a club foot, a child who has seizures and is very slow mentally, and we also now have a few black bloods. You will blend in nicely!”

“I can do something about your hand if you want” Clarke offered. “To make it smaller would be a very complicated and purely cosmetic surgery which I would prefer not to do, but I could separate the fingers so they could all move independently which would give your hand a lot more functionality. Making it smaller will not make it be able to do more; in fact it could be less use since I would have to cut nerves and muscles, it would only look better. I don’t want to take the risks of a surgery to make it look better but possibly be more damaged but a surgery to give you more use; that I would be happy to do, if you wanted me to” Clarke stopped babbling.

“Yeah, it would be good to have the fingers separated, thanks” Emori agreed.

The next day it was impossible to feel the wind from the aftermath of the wave inside the mountain. Raven sent out the small testing wind gage and discovered that it was too windy to raise the power turbines to even one quarter height. No one was really disappointed because that was what they thought would be the case.

The morning after that, the winds had settled sufficiently to raise one of the turbines to half height so that they could have some power in the bunker. It was directed to life support in the areas that people were camping in. By the evening, they had two turbines working to half capacity and the power storage was back to 100% by the next morning. Clarke made an announcement.

“It seems all is well. All areas of our bunker, except for the garage which is now off limits are keeping out the radiation so we will be safe.” Clarke paused for that point to settle. “We will soon have sufficient power to begin allowing everyone to return to their regular accommodations. This afternoon I will announce when the first people can begin their move back. I hope that everyone will be able to sleep in their own beds tonight. Rations will have to continue to be served at least until lunch tomorrow, before the kitchen staff will be able to resume normal food preparations, it may take longer.” Once again, Clarke paused to allow that point to settle. “Within a couple of days you will receive your shower schedule. The water from the reservoir has gone, burned away by praimfaya and we do not have the capacity to take as much water from the underground well as we would need to allow everyone to shower every day. Your shower will last a maximum of three minutes. You may not trade your shower allowance. Everyone will receive vouchers for three film shows each week; you may trade those. Everyone will receive a sweet candy allowance; you may trade those. If you are daft enough to engage in wagering and you lose and as a result have to carry out another’s personal chores, you will honour your bets.

“In three days’ time we will hold a service of remembrance for all those who died in praimfaya. Some will be asked to speak, but if anyone else wishes to say something, please let me know so that I can plan for timings. Attendance will not be mandatory but I know many will want to pay their respects. That is all for now, enjoy the rest of your leisure time for soon we will all be back to work!”

Roan and Lincoln shared a look of pleasure: they had survived the force that shook the mountain. They grinned at Clarke’s explanations of what could and could not be traded and wondered how to get as much as they could to sweet talk their women! The mention of the memorial service sobered them up: yes they did want to pay their respects to those who perished above ground, dying because of the choices made by their ancestors nearly 100 years ago.

Just before the lunch rations were passed out the lights came back on to great cheers. Roan thought that that meant that they would begin their return to their normal rooms. Apparently they had to wait until Raven had carried out a full check to make sure that life support was working properly in all areas and that all seals had held, not just the main ones. He was reassured when Octavia, carrying an oxygen mask, came into the room to be with Lincoln for a little while.

“Oxygen is not quite fully op yet” Octavia said indicating the canister and mask she carried. “Everywhere checked so far is fine radiation wise. But I have to say, the pictures from outside are awful: the reservoir literally has no water in it; the river is gone; and there’s no trees in sight. It’s just a desolate wasteland out there. I can’t imagine how the earth can recover, but all the experts tell me it can, so I’m just gonna believe them. I’ve got to go; I need to finish checking my area” and Octavia was off with a quick kiss for Lincoln who probably felt that he was owed more than that, and a wave for Bellamy, Marta and Megan.

“Are we going to tell them that we now know?” Roan asked.

“I’m not saying anything” Lincoln replied.

“Isn’t there anything that you want to know about your past life?” Roan persisted.

“Not really. I’m a little interested in it, but I want to know more about my future life than a past one. They don’t know that so I’ll just have to discover it as it happens. You?”

“I want to know everything. I want to know if Echo really did kidnap Costia; why Wanheda and I became friends after I kidnapped her and what made her so sure that I was important enough that she sent you and Echo to retrieve me; if they knew about the bunker in Polis why didn’t they use that; was I banished before and why; how they avoided war before; if Azgeda stayed in the coalition; if I lost my arm and how; why Bellamy would help someone kill you; like I said, I want to know everything.”

Lincoln just snorted and wished Roan luck and went to join Thatcher and Zoe in checking in on the horses again. Lincoln thought it a little odd that someone who had no real knowledge of animals was in charge of the animal welfare and husbandry – not that she wasn’t doing a good job; it was just strange. He thought that when they had a quiet moment he would ask.

It turned out that it was Clarke’s idea to keep Zoe in charge of the animals even after people joined them who would in theory be better qualified. Clarke pointed out that each animal used up resources, oxygen (of particular importance while they were on emergency power), water and food; and expelled waste, some of which was toxic and had to be dealt with. The amount of resources used was the cost of keeping each animal: cows were the most expensive. They also produced resources – transport, food, fertiliser, milk, fur, yarn, feathers and leather. The cost of keeping each animal had to be set against the benefit so that they could make sure they kept the balance of what they could afford to keep. When deciding which animals they could afford to give to Trikru, Zoe was the one who weighed up the cost verses the benefits of them keeping each animal. Those who tended a particular group of animals might have argued more that they needed to keep their animals. Zoe was able to independently weigh up logically which animals to keep bearing in mind that there was a maximum total cost for all the animals that they could afford to get through the time of emergency power only, as well as while locked up for the five years. Zoe could use the technology to check her calculations because it could turn out to be a matter of life or death. Lincoln was very impressed that there was a logical reason for it rather than just keeping the senior jobs for their own people.

People who did not usually work inside the bunker found that they had to be reassigned jobs: jobs that they did not particularly like. The one most put out was Titus. He expected to be a teacher, or possibly a combat trainer but was really upset to be told that he would be a part time cleaner, with part time teaching duties. Almost everyone who was formerly a hunter or warrior complained about their assignment. Clarke and Bellamy got them all together and pointed out that they had a choice.

“You could always leave” Bellamy suggested. “We will not force you to stay here but if you do, you follow our rules and that means you need to work. We have no need of any hunters or warriors at the moment. We have no need of tanners, and nor can we generate the fire for metal or glass work. We cannot spare the wood for carving and have nothing to build. We need people to accept that for five years it is going to suck, doing a crappy job. The crappy jobs will get rotated every six months so you’re not stuck doing the same crappy job for five years.”

“When we have had the chance to get to know you better, see where you can contribute in other, less crappy areas” Clarke smiled at Bellamy when she said ‘crappy’, “we will in all likelihood do as we have done with Titus, half time crappy work, half time better work, but everyone spends some time doing the crappy jobs. If you are really opposed to doing the work, then you may stay in your room, it will be locked, and half rations will be brought for you. It will be just like being in prison except it would be your choice. If a group of you felt the same, then we could put you all together in one room so at least you would not be in solitary. As soon as it would be safe, we would put you outside with only what you first arrived with.”

“What about you? What ‘crappy’ job will you do?” Routh asked snidely.

“As well as all the good work in medical, I am responsible for keeping it clean. Sometimes it’s easy, if there has been no blood or vomit or other bodily excretions expelled, but sometimes it’s a long and hard job to clean up, even harder if I have been working for hours on end. I am on call all the time so have no days off: I might have some quieter days, but never a full day off. Everyone else has days off, including you. I also helped clean up the latrines once it was safe to walk around. Any other questions about my work ethic?” Clarke was snide this time.

“Why is Roan not here?” Routh asked.

“Because he accepted his work assignments. He wasn’t happy, but he was gracious enough to realise it has to be done and just commented on how he was looking forward to the five years being up so he can work outside again” Clarke said. “So what is it going to be? Do you want to leave, be locked up with half rations or work?”

There was clearly some grumbling, mainly in trig that Bellamy didn’t understand but Clarke did before Routh said that they would work for the time being but they expected Clarke and Bellamy to live up to their word and change their assignments after one half year.

In the Control Room, it was confirmed that there was no radio contact with anyone so they were unable to say how others fared. 

Raven said that the external radiation level was dropping dramatically and that it would soon be safe for the black bloods to go outside. “Four to six weeks max should be safe” she was almost sure. “When it’s safe for you go to Polis to connect with them, I’ll try to check on our external equipment, the couple of cameras that don’t work, check that the antenna is connected so that when radio contact is possible, we can receive and get through. Will you also go to Camp David, the White House and Areasi?”

“Definitely to Camp David and the White House since they’re not far out of my way if we can’t get through soon. Might go to Areasi if I want to get away from Routh” Clarke said. “I think it may turn out to be a mistake to have let him in, but we’ll see; I hope I’m wrong for Roan’s sake.”

“Just get Roan to pull rank and get them in line” Raven shrugged. “I’m going to set up a countdown clock in the canteen showing the number of days, hours and minutes until we can let people out again. That might help keep people sane to see it going down.”

“Can you set it for five years and four months so that we have a little room to manoeuvre and if we get closer and people are getting angtsy we can give a mental boost by taking more time off?” Clarke suggested. 

Raven agreed. They also agreed that they would show a live camera feed from the outside on all the screens so that everyone could see what it was like out there currently. Clarke would do a voice over explaining again that they all had to work and all would have some free time and outlining the facilities within the bunker for filling in the free time – the cinema, gym, games room, library, and other things they could do once they were all settled and someone could take time to organise them – like competitive games including fencing, wrestling and archery. The bunker day would consist of fourteen hours of daylight, thirty minutes each for dawn and dusk, and therefore nine hours for night time. During the night time, lights in corridors and public rooms would dim so that everyone, including the animals, could retain a circadian rhythm. Clarke also reminded everyone that that although they were all different with different upbringings and beliefs, they all had to treat everyone with respect regardless of their personal thoughts and feelings. “Mt Orlan is an inclusive home: we welcome everyone who wants to live in peace. If anyone can think of something that we can do to make this easier, please come forward: all good ideas are gratefully received.”

Seeing the views outside brought home to everyone how very real and dangerous it would have been to have stayed outside. There was clearly nothing to hunt, nothing to eat or even drink so even if they believed that the sky people were weak and over cautious and it would be safe to breathe outside, they knew they could not live out there. Routh decided to try to make the best of things inside the mountain and bide his time. He thought it likely that the remains of the Azgedan people would need him to lead them once it was safe to go outside since his freak of a brother had clearly abdicated his responsibility. He didn’t know if he would want Azgeda to re-join the coalition, but it looked like a better choice than to stay with the weak Skaikru.

Almost everyone else looked forward to the five years being a time of peace; a chance to work, play, grow and plan for their future without fear of attack, starvation, or disease. Some also thought that it would be the chance to spend a little time to find love, or at least lust and or affection!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think Routh is being a bit delusional if he thinks Roan would allow him to lead the Azgedan people, son't you?
> 
> Titus needs to adapt, but will he?
> 
> How will Emori be welcomed by the grounders when they see her hand? How will Murphy react?
> 
> Eh, plenty to come before I wind this little tale down.


	27. The Old Empire Strikes Back

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some people refuse to live with the ethos of Mt Orlan and fight back to try to keep their own values active and someone suffers. A stand has to be taken because Skaikru of Mt Orlan are far from weak.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: THE AFTERMATH OF RAPE IS DISCUSSED. EXTREME MEDICAL VIOLENCE TAKES PLACE
> 
> If either of those things are too upsetting for you to read, go straight to the end and let me know in a comment and I'll reply with a chapter summary.

WARNING: THE AFTERMATH OF RAPE IS DISCUSSED AND MEDICAL VIOLENCE TAKES PLACE. If this is going to upset you, skip this chapter, go to the end send me a comment and I'll reply with a chapter summary.

Once everyone had settled into their new normal, normal for the next five years, that is; Clarke wanted to test all potential blood donors so that she could operate on Emori’s hand, and so their records were complete should surgery be required in the future. It took Roan and Luna to emphasise to everyone that if they were not willing to donate, they were not eligible to receive, before all the adult grounders agreed. It turned out that the reluctance was based only on the fact that the blood was to go into Emori, a friekdriena. 

Clarke, Bellamy, Raven, Roan, Luna, Octavia, Lincoln and Echo all went to make sure that the people knew that if they used that word, or any of its synonyms to describe anyone who lived within the bounds of Mt Orlan then they would be put on report. They were told of the ethos of respect of the mountain and they know what their options are if they do not wish to live with that.

“All the people you think of as freaks have proved their worth and value to us. So far none of you have offered anything that puts you even on a par with them let alone above them. If you choose to continue to see yourself above them, then you will not stay with us. If you cannot think with respect, then at least speak respectfully. Luckily, or not, you have five years to mellow; our ethos will not. This is your final warning on the issue of respect: punishment will follow the next incident. Please make sure you are all familiar with wrong doings, crimes and punishments.

“Your weakness will see you all killed” Routh declared. “You’re inability to fight, or to make the hard choices to let the even weaker die will see you all wiped out by this earth that has no mercy.”

At that declaration all of the so called weak ones stood tall and looked to Clarke to make the pronouncement.

“Training room, now. Choose your eight to face us eight. We’ll see who are the weak ones. Normal training rules apply in the fight” Clarke declared.

Routh and his small band of dissidents were looking very smug, until they saw the look on Gordon’s face. Gordon knew that both Roan and Echo were excellent swordsmen, he also guessed that as a trained night blood, Luna would be, too. He didn’t know about the others, but looking at their expressions, they weren’t scared.

“I want Titus” Luna said.

“I want Routh” Roan said.

“I don’t care, I’ll take a good fight with anyone” Octavia said as Bellamy and Lincoln groaned.

The eight that Routh chose included Gordon, who didn’t look very happy. Clarke wasn’t very happy with his inclusion either, but more from a sense of betrayal. “I thought you understood us, Gordon” Clarke said to him in disappointment as she stood to face him in sword play.

“I am sorry, Wanheda, I do understand what you are trying to achieve, and if not for praimfaya making the world a tougher place, resources more scarce, then I would laud what you are doing: but when we open those doors, and the earth has nothing to offer us, who do you think will be needed?” Gordon tried to explain.

“Well I think someone like Emori who can fix the farm that produces most of our food despite her dodgy hand will be more valuable than someone like Routh who just wants to sew discontent; someone like Roan who wants to do his best for his people, and all people will be more valuable than someone like Routh who just wants what is best for himself; someone like Rhodes who will put up with any amount of pain to be a good father to his son is more valuable than someone like Routh who can’t even be pleased that his brother is alive. Tell me Gordon, am I wrong to think like that?” Clarke asked.

“No, Wanheda, you are not wrong to think like that, but I think that we need the strong to live on this earth, I believe it is the process of natural selection: you have heard of it I presume?”

“Yeah, I’ve heard of it. But the thing is, you’re not taking account of the fact that it wasn’t the physically strong who took this bunker, or found the others, it was the mentally strong, with the help of the physically strong.” As Clarke and Gordon were very close, their blades crossed, eyes staring at each other, Clarke reached across with her right hand to pinch the nerves on his neck rendering Gordon unconscious.

Raven knew she couldn’t beat anyone in a normal sword fight had adapted one of the shock batons that she used. Her poor opponent didn’t know what happened to her when she went down seizing from the electric shock she received.

Bellamy was struggling against his opponent, Willow. It was Echo who had despatched Hali who came to his aid. Clarke decided to watch.

Roan was clearly toying with Routh.

Octavia and Lincoln were fighting Broxton and Jass, weaving together confusing their opponents as they struggled to keep up with the almost dancing pair. Luna and Titus were evenly matched, it could go either way so Clarke went to step in.

“Do you mind if I take over for a bit, Luna? I’ve been wanting to get at Titus since he almost cost the Commander her life.” Luna smiled at Clarke’s words and stepped back while Titus looked shocked.

Taking advantage of Titus’s moment of inattention, Clarke swung at his legs, knocked him to the floor then clocked him at his temple. Seeing Titus fall was the signal for the others to wrap up their fights.

When everyone was awake and nursing their bruised egos Clarke pointed out that although they were a peace loving people, it did not make them weak. “Some of you came here to seek our aid knowing of our ethos, and now you choose to deride us for it. You are guests in our home, please behave accordingly. I don’t like to have to administer lessons more than once to people who should know better.”

“I thought Bellamy was the one to make the inspiring speeches” Echo said.

“He was, and is, but he would have been too nice to them, given them a history lesson as well, built them up while I wanted them knocked down for a while. Roan, I think you’re going to have to go all Magisterial on them; would you mind?” Clarke asked.

“No, I’m going to put them all in respect school” Roan was grim. He knew that he was partly to blame for how things had gone down since he spent more time with Clarke and Lincoln than he did his former people, and the answer was in his mental wording: ‘former people’, just like Echo, his primary allegiance was no longer with Azgeda.

After the beat down, the grounders were very happy to donate blood for Emori’s operation.

It was a fairly simple operation, but Clarke wished she had Jackson or even Maya with her. Molly was there to keep an eye on Emori’s vitals and control the blood so that Clarke could concentrate on slicing the skin and making neat stitches so that the scaring would almost impossible to see, not that anyone would be looking for scars between the fingers of the large hand.

It didn’t take long for Emori to be able to make full use of her hand. With the proper care, and use, its size was not so noticeable, or maybe people just got used to seeing the big hand so didn’t notice it any more. Because of the lessons taught to her by ALIE, Emori became second in command of Engineering and even Raven was heard to say that she had to keep on innovating or Emori would overtake her in ability!

Just under four weeks since the wave roared over the mountain Raven picked up static on the radio.

“Someone’s alive!” she shouted over the walkie-talkies. “Don’t know who, yet, but someone is out there trying to get in contact. I’ll try to reply, although they’ll probably only get static too, but at least they’ll know someone heard them.”

It was Bellamy who had the idea of trying to use Morse code to contact them. Bellamy was the only one of them who knew the code so he had to write out the alphabet and the signal for each letter so that Raven could send out the message ‘mt orlan all well. Who u’.

The reply brought much joy ‘areasi all well. Try tomorrow’.

An announcement was made via the intercom so that everyone who had friends in Areasi would know that they were safe. Clarke emphasised that they were not able to make full contact so could not yet hold conversations, just receive the signal for all well, and that the other bunkers did not have the powerful transmitters or receivers that Mt Orlan and Areasi had so it was no surprise at all that they could not yet reach those.

Marrietta and Cole spoke to a few different people to find out what sort of sporting competitions they wanted to see that they thought they would be able to arrange in the bunker. Clarke and Bellamy wanted to see games for children, youths and adults. They argued for everyone to be placed in ‘house’ so that it was mixed clans.

“Colours, you know, red, blue, green and yellow” said Echo.

“Animals, deer, boar, cows and horses” said Lincoln.

“No, tigers, lions, elephants and hippopotamus” laughed Octavia.

“Gods, Atlas, Zues, Pois …”

“No!” everyone interrupted Bellamy.

“Hogwarts” Roan offered. He had just finished reading the children’s series.

“Ooh, yeah” said Raven.

“What’s Hogwarts?” asked Luna.

And everyone started talking, trying to explain the Harry Potter books, talking over each other, confusing Luna even more.

“Enough!” Luna said. “I don’t care about Hogwarts, but I’ll go with the theme if it will stop you all yelling at me.”

“We can show the movies, make a weekend of it, a movie marathon, all eight on one after the other for a long weekend so everyone gets the chance to see them” Raven suggested.

“No” Clarke insisted, “we can’t have people being upset about their house placement based on what is said about them in the movies if we’re going with a Hogwarts theme.”

“She’s right” Bellamy said with his head between the knees of his wives while he sat on the floor at their feet. “Allocate the house teams randomly, making sure that there is a mix between children and genders, though. I’ll get Bree doing that since she doesn’t have a lot to do at the moment, and then I can ask her to work with Cole and Marrietta making sure all the facilities are available and safe.”

“Okay” everyone agreed and Luna marvelled at how Clarke and Bellamy complemented and worked for each other; and decided she would either watch all the movies or read the books.

Those who knew about the Harry Potter world argued over the various houses, which was best, which was worst and it brought out the competitive streak in everyone. Somehow, the house colours managed to turn up all over the place – food that was presented in the Hufflepuff colours, screens on standby with Gryfinndor colours one day then the next Slytherin. Each house was given a house captain, all of whom were grounders: Ryan was Gryffindor’s, Ivy was Hufflepuff’s, Marta was Ravenclaw’s (and didn’t it cause consternation that Marta and Megan were in different houses!); and Thatcher was Slytherin’s. Clarke and Bellamy were not given houses since they would be the referees.

Marrietta and Cole set out the game and the restrictions for each category and each house was able to nominate two participants for each category for those that were individual contests. The first contest was for a team laser obstacle course relay where the rule was one participant from each category for each house to make their way through the laser obstacle course, if they broke the laser chain they had to start again. Those who gave real thought to it chose slight nimble teams.

It was decided that the race would be shown on the big screen for those not able to fit in the training room where it would take place. Clarke was particularly pleased to note that the younger children did so much better than the adults!

A contest would be held every five days with the schedule set out for all to see and a set of the rules for each contest given to all the captains so they could spend some time trying to find the best person to represent their house. Sometimes Megan would be with Marta while she was working with her house teams (but Megan had to wear ear plugs so she didn’t hear anything she could pass along to Ryan) and sometimes Megan would cling to Bellamy. Marta appeared to be in her element and to Clarke it was clear who would the disciplinarian in that household.

It took nearly two months for radio contact with Areasi to allow for conversation. It seemed that there was already some tension there. Some of the Arkers were very standoffish with the clanspeople. Clarke’s advice was sought.

“We’ve told people who can’t respect everyone else that they have the choice to leave, be locked in their room with half rations or grow up. With us, though, it is the other way around. The next incident of rudeness will result in cleaning the toilets. They’ve had warnings, now it’s punishment. After three punishments, it’s lock up with half rations for a week. Then after one more punishment it’s lock up again but this time for two weeks. A few people have been put on toilet cleaning duty, but no one more than once so far. Speak to whoever is in charge of the Arkers and tell them that it is your bunker and you do not want the atmosphere they are projecting and that you expect them to deal with any transgressors. I guess you need to make sure you have a stated rules and punishment regime that applies to everyone and make sure you adhere to it. Get Aiden and Wells to help you; they are both very insightful young men” Clarke finished.

The radiation levels were low enough for a black blood to go outside. When the others heard what they were about to do there was great debate about who should be allowed to go where, do what, and with whom.

“No one with dependents goes out until we know for sure that it is safe” Clarke declared. 

“That means that it should be Aurora and Beppi who should be the test subjects” Roan stated. “I’m not saying they should go anywhere, but they should be the ones to go outside and if it is safe for them, then we discuss who goes where to do what.”

“Are you saying that our mom is expendable?” Bellamy growled out.

“No, because no one is expendable, but I’m trying to think logically about who out of the nightbloods are most needed for the long term future of this clan and …”.

“No, it is Ariah” Luna said. “Ariah has no special skills and he is not young and has no children” she spoke of the only other surviving adult of her former clan.

“Okay, if one person is going out then someone needs to go out in a hazmat suit just in case, someone who also has black blood, but is strong enough to pick Ariah up and return him back to us if he takes ill” Clarke insisted.

“That’s me” Bellamy declared. “I know that he may show some signs and to not bring him in straight away. I know the level by which he cannot recover and I would bring him in before he got to that point.”

So Ariah and Bellamy were the first to leave the mountain. Even though they had seen the screen pictures, it still took them by surprise at how desolate the land was. Maybe it was the feel of the wind, biting and strong, that brought home to them that there was nothing to act as a wind break: nothing as far as the eye could see. It wasn’t radiation that made Ariah feel ill, it was the realisation that this was it. His whole world was gone apart from what remained secure in that bunker. He hoped that Wanheda knew what she was about and that they could somehow bring life back to the earth as she thought.

With the excursion a medical success it was decided that Clarke and Luna would make the trip to Polis to try to establish contact, and with WH and DC if possible. Raven, Octavia and Bellamy would check over the outside of the mountain, fix the broken cameras and check the antenna. Since Clarke and Luna would be outside for at least two days, they would wear hazmat suits while Raven, Bellamy and Octavia would be outside for no more than four hours each day for as long as they felt completely well.

Bellamy made sure that Clarke and Luna knew what stars to look for to make sure that they were not going to far off their line since they did not yet have access to the GPS and the compasses were acting weird. Clarke had to calm Bellamy by pointing out that she knew exactly where the Arc would be if she were at TonDC and Polis and that the Mountain made a good point of reference. Luna added that she was also used to navigating by the stars. It did calm Bellamy somewhat.

The road trip to TonDC was surreal. They were able to access the entrance to the bunker and speak to the people inside using the intercom. They decided not to risk opening more seals than they needed to just yet: it was enough that they were able to discover that all was well at CD too since they were able to maintain contact through a cable network.

“We’ll call in on our way back from Polis with news of what we discover there” Clarke confirmed. “I am sure that they will be pleased to know of everyone’s survival. We will only await news from Europe and the ARC and we shall make sure you know as soon as possible after we do. See you in a couple of days.”

Luna and Clarke carried on to Polis. Although there was no longer a Polis tower to guide them they knew as soon as they reached the outskirts of the city: it was a mass of fallen dereliction. Occasional single or two story buildings remained standing, nothing taller, but even they had all their windows blown and it looked like the heat of the wave had destroyed all their contents. They found where Clarke thought the entrance to the bunker was and it was well and truly buried. They would need heavy lifting equipment or a special bomb to clear the debris. They walked to the arena.

The GPS was not yet working so they had to manually search for one of the three access points. It was Luna who found the first one. 

The box was opened and Clarke attached the portable antenna. Clarke spoke into the radio: “This is Clarke and Luna of Mt Orlan calling Polis, come in please.” She had to repeat it four times before there was a response.

“Hey, up, Clarke, this is Wick, how is the beautiful Raven and why didn’t she want to come and talk to me?”

Clarke beamed so brightly at Luna with the knowledge that the bunker survived that she forgot to reply to Wick.

“Clarke, come in, please, over” was the reminder.

“Sorry, Wick. I was just so overwhelmingly happy to hear your voice that I needed a moment. Is all well in there?”

“Yeah, we’re good. I mean no one likes being shut in here, but it’s better than the alternative, right?”

“Yeah, it’s definitely better than the alternative. I’ve spoken to Areasi and WH who are connected to CD and all is well with them, as are we. Like you said, it’s sometimes not pleasant, but better than the alternative. Is the Commander there? I’m sure she would like to talk to Luna while I try and set up a more permanent connection.”

Luna and the Commander talked in fast, happy trig while Clarke went to search for another connection box. When she found it she went to get the Rover with all the equipment needed to build an antenna that should allow for communication between Polis and Mt Orlan in the first instance, and eventually to Areasi and the smaller bunkers. Luna eventually had to cease her conversation so that she could help Clarke with the building and stabilising of the antenna. Then they had to run the cable from the connection box to the top of the antenna where Clarke attached a dish, pointing towards Mt Orlan, and another towards Areasi.

Wick confirmed that they were receiving something, but only static at the moment. Clarke told him that at first they only received static from Areasi but used Morse code to converse. “It took a long time and some funny errors were made, but we did it” Clarke said.

Roan and Echo were beginning to spend more time with the former Azgedans. They both complained to Clarke that it was probably a losing battle since they were very happy to play the part of empathic Orlans, but they really despised the weak and those who save the weak.

“I really don’t think that they will all stay when the doors can be opened” Roan said. “I’m sorry. We try to show them that I and others are not weak, but it doesn’t matter, they do not respect me. They will obey me, I am their king, but they would rather it were Routh.”

“I am sorry, Roan. I had hoped that letting them stay would prove to be the right choice, but if they wish to leave, or cannot live by our ethos and have to leave, at least you will know that there is another little pocket of Azgeda out there. The Commander did say that she would accept Azgeda back into the coalition after the five years so perhaps they can move to wherever the people of the coalition end up. But it has only been a few months; there is still plenty of time to change their mind” Clarke tried to sound hopeful.

“Thank you. I hope for change from them, but do not expect it. If more of them need to leave than stay, I shall have to abdicate the throne for I wish to stay here with you” Roan said.

Clarke looked into the king’s eyes and smiled, she knew what he was saying. “We talk tonight” she agreed with him.

“You might want to know that I’ve been sleeping with Routh” Echo said. “A bit of fun, but no zip. I could pass him along to Raven to try: she may have better luck in softening his attitude. She said she felt nothing with any of the warriors she talked to before. She did like Gordon, but that was before he was on Routh’s side in the attempted coup; she thought Broxton was hot, but only until he started speaking. What do you think?”

“I think you, Roan, need to speak with your friend, Lincoln, about coming clean as to who he really thinks would be perfect for Raven” Clarke said sternly.

“Erm, yes, well” Roan prevaricated. “Don’t tell him I told you, but he told me that it was a joke: he has no idea who would be right for Raven.”

Both Clarke and Echo laughed. “We thought so, but Raven decided to have some fun trying them out” Echo said. “If Raven doesn’t want to try Routh then I’ll keep him for a bit longer.”

Clarke and Roan were sitting in Roan’s room, it was slightly bigger than Clarke’s, holding hands. Roan needed to hold onto Clarke so that she would know that although he was upset, he was not angry, or at least not exactly angry.

“Why, why did you send Bogdov with Titus?” Roan got straight to the point.

“A number of reasons, and I don’t know that if any one of them wasn’t there if I would have made a different choice. I think it would certainly have been a lot harder to decide what to do if there were fewer reasons for it not to be you, but I cannot say for sure what I would have done. Firstly, and the most selfish of the reasons is that you are so very important to me and I was almost certain that whoever went would not survive” Clarke said, stroking Roan’s hand. “I know I could have, would have carried on without you, but it would have been so much harder, lonelier. The second reason is that the Commander didn’t want you to go either, and I don’t know why she didn’t so you would need to ask her. The Commander actually asked for Gordon to go with Titus but I managed to persuade her that Bogdov would be better. I think that part of the reason, and probably only a part but I can’t guess how big or small a part, is that the Commander wanted someone to leave straight away and didn’t want to wait for you. Luna told me that she spoke to the Commander about my worries for Costia’s safety with Titus around and possibly that played a role too. My third reason is because the one who could possibly have led Azgeda in that time had to have the undisputed support of the people to stand any chance of finding places to ride out the wave. I knew that you would not have that and would need to fight to gain acceptance and the Azgedans could not afford to waste the time. To be honest, I am surprised that Routh did not stay to lead since he hates us and all we stand for so much. I know it would have likely led to death, but being dead is not the worst thing to happen to someone, especially warriors who would rather die fighting than live like us, so I am puzzled. Fourthly, I thought that the remaining people of Azgeda would look to you once the five years had elapsed to be their King and leader, and they would need you rather than Gordon and they don’t acknowledge Echo as Azgedan. Remember, I didn’t know that Routh, or any other possible heir existed at the time. Finally, Bogdov wanted to go. He knew he would not be able to live with our ethos and wanted to leave. He did say that if they found a bunker he would come and visit us after five years and he thanked me for everything I had done for him and all Azgedans and everything I had tried to do” Clarke finished.

“You really are the best person to think about long term strategy, aren’t you? You thought that it would be best for Azgeda if I were to be alive after the five years, something that I did not think about. I am glad that I am important to you, and also glad that if I died you could go on without me. You are a strong woman, Clarke, and a good leader. Listening to your reasons, I think you made the best decision, for you, for me, for Skaikru of Mt Orlan and for Azgeda, so thank you: thank you for making the decision so that I would not have to be torn up not matter what I decided. Thank you for looking out for me” Roan said as he leant forward to kiss Clarke, for the first time, at least in this life; he didn’t know if they had kissed in the previous life.

Two weeks later an angry Echo told Clarke and Roan that Routh had been sleeping with her in an attempt to get information from her that would reflect badly on the leadership within Mt Orlan. “The trouble is” Echo lamented, “is that the things I did say about you all are things that you are rightly proud of, but he believes they are things that he can use against you later. He hasn’t said, but I think he blames you for the fall of Azgeda, and indirectly he would be right.”

“No, the blame lies with Nia. If she hadn’t tried to kill the black bloods then I don’t think the Commander would have required Azgeda to leave the coalition. They would have had the same number of spots in the bunkers as the other clans if they were still part of the coalition” Clarke tried to reassure Echo. “I am sorry that you were being used in part because of me, though. You don’t deserve that. Did you tell him that you were thinking of passing him over to Raven because he just wasn’t doing it for you?”

“Only indirectly: I told him that there was no way I would suggest Raven give him a go to see if she could generate some passion from him now since he clearly focusses more on the talk than on the action” Echo laughed.

Lying in their bed that night, Roan told Clarke that there was something he wanted to know, something that won’t change anything, but it was a niggle for him that would not go away until satisfied. Clarke assured him that he could ask her anything and she would answer honestly, just like she did when he asked about why Bogdov was sent back to Azgeda rather than him, “and it still puzzles me that if Routh wanted to follow the Azgeda ways why he didn’t lead them through the end but instead came here” Clarke muttered the latter point disgruntled.

“I know you will, but I don’t want to know everything until after Routh’s future is set and I know it will be impossible to tell me half the story. I need to know that neither you nor I are reacting to Routh based on what happened before” Roan said just as he realised that he was telling more than he wanted to.

“I didn’t know about Routh before” Clarke replied. “And I guess I need to smack Bellamy. Who else?”

“Lincoln, who is mildly interested but that’s all.”

“Then I think we need to slip in some snippets, intermingled with some wind ups, to pay him back for Raven having to put in all that effort only to discover none of them were worth it” Clarke suggested.

“Okay, what do we tell him?”

Just over six months after the death wave, Areasi got in touch with Mt Orlan to let them know that they had made contact with the ARC. The Chancellor was pleased to be informed that all his people were safe and well. Clarke snorted because the people of Mt Orlan were not his people and there was no way they were going to be.

The conversation with Areasi was a little tense because Clarke got the impression that the people originally from Areasi were wishing that the Arkers had not decided that they would settle with them. Areasi needed new people, but the Arkers seemed to be a bit self important and narrow minded. Clarke knew they were; which is why Orlans would never join the Arkers.

“When you next get in touch, please pass on the good wishes to all on ARC from the people of Mt Orlan” Clarke said diplomatically.

“When we first made contact, you should have told us why you were separating from them” Dr Schmidt grumbled.

“I would have if you asked” Clarke replied. “Listen, it’s your facility; you need to make the rules, both for now and for when the rest of the Arkers come down. If they don’t want to follow your rules, we set them up with their own area and give them some help to get started, but to be honest, I think many of the older ones will probably want to stay up there if they can and they should be encouraged to do so because the earth is brutal, even more so now and without the hermetically sealed environment, I don’t think many of them will cope.”

“You’re right; I just got caught up in the excitement of connecting with more people. At least more of them won’t come down until the coalitioners have all moved to wherever they’re going to live, and I do enjoy Wells and Aiden’s company. Perhaps we can come to a different arrangement about who lives where and with whom once we know what’s what after the five years” Dr Schmidt said more in hope than expectation.

It would be almost a year after the death wave that contact would be made with Berlin and London.

It was at a social gathering of Clarke, Bellamy, Octavia, Raven, Echo, Roan, Marta, Megan, Emori and Lincoln when Bellamy with great fear and pride announced that Megan was pregnant. It was a time of great joy, happiness and teasing as well as important questions like, if they wanted a boy or girl, and what names they had considered. When Megan started to yawn, Bellamy was about to leave with his wives when Marta stopped him and said he should remain with his friends while she settled with Megan for a while. Everyone could see the internal argument Bellamy was having with himself, but it was Megan who turned her calm eyes on her passionate husband and told him to stay and talk his friends to death so that she and Marta could sleep.

Both Marta and Megan were hugged and congratulated. “You two are going to be the best moms this baby could possibly want” Clarke gushed, not realising that she had automatically assumed that they would both be ‘mom’ to the baby.

When it was only those who knew about the past life left, Raven pretended to be a little tipsy and asked Lincoln “Did Octavia tell you what you did when you thought she was pregnant?”

Luckily, they all knew that this snippet was a wind up and those who knew Octavia and Lincoln in the previous life laughed. Lincoln blanched.

“What did I do?” Lincoln asked.

“It doesn’t matter, babe, just make sure that you’re happy when it happens in this life and we’re good” Octavia tried to reassure him. “Luckily Clarke was able to get me an implant this time so we should have no worries.”

Clarke was in her office thinking about the division that was starting to tear the people apart. The games helped at the start, but now they were used as an excuse to favour certain people over others. She feared that she would have to segregate those who would not pledge themselves to the ethos of Mt Orlan until such a time as it was safe for them to leave. She didn’t expect those planning to return to the coalition to pledge themselves to Skaikru, but she did expect them to be able to act like they were grateful to be alive for the duration they were stuck with them.

Clarke’s musings were cut short by her being called to Medical.

“I am fine. I do not need to you to make a fuss just because you feel sorry for the poor freikdriena” Emori’s voice could be heard.

“You are not fine and I have no idea what a frikdainer is” Murphy was also yelling.

“What’s going on?” Clarke asked as she walked into the room.

“I came across Emori crawling away from the training room with Routh and some of his followers jeering at her. I could see that she was hurt so I brought her here, despite all the insults for doing so” Murphy said with an angry but perplexed look at Emori.

“Okay, thanks, Murph. Can you go and tell Bellamy exactly what you saw while I help Emori, please?” When Murphy nodded his head and went to leave the room Clarke added “You did good” and locked the door behind him.

Once it was only Emori, Clarke and Molly in the room Clarke began: “okay Emori, I need to take your clothes off so I can examine your injuries and I need you to tell me what hurts”.

Clarke waited until Emori nodded her acceptance before she and Molly started to assist Emori with the removal of her clothing. They could see the beginning of bruising forming around her neck, her arms, across her chest and stomach, and on her thighs. 

Clarke drew in a breath “Emori, were you raped?” she asked quietly.

Emori looked at Clarke, tears streaming down her face and nodded.

“Did it happen in the Training Room?”

Again Emori nodded her reply.

“Okay, I have to ask if you need something to prevent a pregnancy from happening” Clarke was gentle.

“Oh god, please. I don’t want to risk having one of their babies” Emori spoke.

“Okay, I’ll give you an injection that will make sure you don’t get pregnant from this. If you want something for a longer term plan, come see me later” and Clarke went to prepare a ‘Plan B’ injection. “Now I need to clean you out to make sure that there are no internal injuries that you can’t feel. I’ll be as gentle as I can.”

Just as Clarke was preparing to check inside Emori there was a booming bang at the door. Clarke decided to use the intercom to maintain Emori’s privacy. “Yes?”

“What’s going on, Clarke?” Raven asked. “Murphy is telling Bellamy that Emori was attacked.”

“Yeah, Raven, I need you to get Octavia and Echo, and for only you three to check the surveillance of the Training Room. Isolate the relevant footage but do nothing else until both Bellamy and I tell you to. Get Roan, Lincoln and Luna to stay with Bellamy and Murphy. I’m serious, Rae. Get the footage, the necessary people but do nothing.”

Raven was silent for a moment then agreed. “Tell Emori that we’re here for her.”

Clarke finished with her treatment of Emori, giving her a muscle relaxant and letting her sleep. She asked Molly to run the semen to check how many. While Molly was doing that, Clarke called for Harper to come to Medical. Clarke knew that for some reason, Harper and Emori had struck up a friendship and Emori would need all the friends she could get.

“It was three” Molly said. 

Clarke acknowledged the number with a sigh and wondered how many had helped, tried or just watched. She guessed she would find out. 

When Harper arrived, Clarke just told her that Emori might need her and that no one was to be allowed in medical for the time being. Molly heard and nodded her agreement.

Clarke went to find Chief Miller and told him what had happened. “I don’t know the numbers yet, but we need to be able to secure probably around 12, with detention for another of a similar number. Get all the Skaikru Guards and arm them with the batons and await Bellamy’s orders.” David looked sad and disappointed but went to do as asked.

Clarke went to the Control room to find Raven and the others.

“How is she?” everyone asked.

“Hurting, very badly bruised, but thanks to modern medicine fast asleep and definitely not pregnant. Does the footage show it all?” Clarke asked Raven.

“Yeah, other than Murphy, we’ve all seen it. It’s clear who did it, and who did nothing. Routh, Broxton and Hector raped her. All the other Azgedans, excepting Roan, Echo, Holly and Ivy who were not there, watched, jeered and encouraged. Gordon, Willow and Freddie tried to stop it at the beginning but were pushed back and I think were told to be careful or they would be next. Roan said he can’t be sure but that’s what it looked like Routh was saying.”

Clarke looked at Roan and he nodded.

“Bellamy, it’s clear, Routh, Broxton and Hector will be castrated, branded and detained on half rations for a minimum of three years; I don’t know about Gordon, Willow and Freddie, but the others must be detained on half rations, too; but I think they should be detained until it is safe to release them outside. They have made no effort to adopt our way of life and we have given them many chances. Where are they all now?”

“I agree” Luna said.

“And me” from Octavia.

“Okay, a vote” Bellamy said. “Those in favour of Clarke’s suggestion, raise your hands.”

All hands were raised. Raven nodded and pulled up the live feed from the Training Room. It was an orgy, with Gordon, Freddie and Willow cowering in the corner.

“Can we use a sleeping gas canister?” Bellamy asked Raven. “It would be easier to take them down since they’re all in the one location.”

It was agreed. Bellamy went to speak with Chief Miller to sort out the actual take down and the three different levels of detention; Clarke went to talk to Bree to rearrange the accommodations and to Murphy to thank him for what he did and to ask him to make sure that the kitchen knows to arrange half rations for 14 people, 11 of whom would be in detention, three who would be in medical then recovery before joining the other eight in detention.

“Are you sure you will be able to do this, Clarke?” Echo asked. “I will be happy to carry out the procedure.” Echo almost sounded like she wished Clarke would take her up on the offer.

“No, it is my responsibility. I shall do it. I will keep them awake, and the senior advisors will be able to witness if they wish. I shall inform Polis and Areasi so that they may use the information as they wish.”

“I am sorry, Clarke” Roan said. “I am sorry that I was not able to keep control of my people and that this happened to your friend and that you are going to have to do something so against your nature.”

“The only person I want you to control is yourself so there is no need to apologise. I am sorry that none of us were able to persuade more of your former people to try to live as we do. I am so very sorry that this happened to Emori, but I would rather this than we controlled people, and I only hope that one day Emori will be able to forgive me for thinking so” Clarke said as she leaned into the warm, safe chest of her love.

“She’s right. I wish it had happened to me instead of Emori, but it is better than controlling people” Echo said. “We should give Emori the opportunity to carry out the branding.” No one disagreed with that statement.

Once all the 14 accused were secured in the same temporary detention room, Gordon, Willow and Freddie were secured separately but would be able to see and hear what happened in the other room; David Miller, Vincent Vie and Titus also watched the footage and heard Clarke’s evidence concerning Emori’s condition. They all agreed with the proposed sentences: they were in line with Mt Orlan’s rules for crime and punishment. Titus looked at Clarke with a new respect.

When the 14 accused were awake the 11 people of the court went to line up in front of them with Clarke and Bellamy at the centre.

“Broxton, Hector and Routh, you are charged with assault and rape and have been found guilty. Before you are informed of your sentence in accordance with the rules of Mt Orlan, is there anything you want to say?” Bellamy asked.

It was, naturally, Routh who spoke. “How dare you tie me up like this and treat me as a common criminal merely for taking what should be mine by right. When I am free I shall make you weak sky rats regret doing this to me.”

“That would be a no then. Al, Ashton, Goran, Hali, Jass, Leah, Leigh, Otto, Shawn, York and Zelda you have been charged and found guilty of either assault or aiding assault; is there anything you wish to say in your defence before sentence, according to the rules of Mt Orlan is pronounced?”

“I didn’t think they would go that far” Leah said. “They just wanted to have a bit of fun with her, they said.”

“And why would you allow them to have fun with someone who was not willing?” Clarke asked.

“She’s a freikdreina and he’s a prince so of-course he can” Leah said.

“I am sorry, Leah, that you have not learnt anything about our life here” Clarke said with sadness. “No one is above the law, and the only titles are those earned. No one is a freikdreina here either, and you have been warned that just using that word to describe someone is a misdemeanour here. There is no reduction to the sentence. Anyone else?”

There was silence from the other accused. It was possible that they thought that the weak sky rats would just administer a slap over the wrist.

“It has been proposed that the sentence for Broxton, Hector and Routh be castration and branding for the rape: is there anyone on the court council who disagree?” Bellamy asked.

“I do” said Titus. “I should like the sentence to be death, but I know that it is against the law for Mt Orlan so concur that the proposed sentence is accepted.”

If it wasn’t such a serious matter Clarke would have smiled at how Titus made it sound like Skaikru were led by a bunch of idiots.

“With no other dissenters that sentence is agreed. For the assault or the aiding of assault, it is proposed that all the accused be detained on half rations until such a time as they can be taken to a place at a distance of a minimum of 1,000 clicks from here and left to their own devices: do any of the court council disagree with the proposed sentence?” Bellamy asked.

Again Titus disagreed. “I say that they should be taken now and left to burn a slow and painful death, but accept that you will not do that since it will put your own people at risk, too.”

“Sentences so agreed” Bellamy pronounced. “You will remain here while your rooms are prepared. You will be either two or three per room. There will be bedding, a toilet and sink in each room and food will be brought to you two times each day. A screen will be in each room which will show a variety of entertainment for four hours each day plus recordings of any communal activities that you may wish to witness. You may receive visitors who will be allowed to talk to you through the door. Each week you will be showered and given clean clothes, forcibly if necessary. We are all very sorry that it came to this. We tried to understand your difficulties in assimilating with us, but there are lines that we are not prepared to let you, or anyone, cross unpunished.”

Emori declared that she did wish to carry out the branding, and to witness the castrations.

Gordon, Willow and Freddie were given the task of explaining to the other coalition people in the mountain what had happened but they were not allowed to reveal Emori’s identity, nor were they allowed to refer to Emori’s hand as any sort of justification, reminding them of the penalty for calling any one a freak, in English or any other language.

The castrations, and brandings (really tattoos of the phrase ‘I AM A RAPIST’ in trig across their faces) were screened so that all those in detention could witness that they were carried out. To be sure that no one could doubt what Clarke did once she cut them open, she also removed their testicles. By their own definition, Routh, Hector and Broxton were no longer men and Clarke wondered if they would attempt to take their own lives, and if so how. She was determined that they would live and suffer for as long as possible.

The Commander said she had no wish for such people to join with hers when the doors to the bunkers could be permanently opened. She suggested that they be taken to the most northern reaches of Azgeda and be left to forage as best they can. Clarke agreed that that was probably what they would do when the time came.

Jass asked to speak to Clarke. Clarke turned up to the detention room that Jass shared with Leah and Zelda and activated the intercom. “Why did you wish to speak with me?”

“I wish to let you know that I am proud of the strength you displayed in your punishment of us. You were right, you warned us of what would happen if we did not follow your rules. We thought that your rules meant that you were weak. I did not understand, I do now and I beg that you allow us all a quick honourable death” Jass asked.

“No” Clarke was adamant. “You had the chance to live an honourable life, you chose a dishonourable life. I am not giving you an easy out now. To us, what you propose is dishonourable. We have a saying, ‘if you can’t do the time, don’t do the crime’. You knew what the consequences of your actions would be yet you still did them, so accept the consequences with dignity. When it is safe for everyone to breathe outside you will be taken to northern Azgeda. What you do after we leave you there is up to you as long as you do not come within our range again. Leah, Derek is doing well: his foot is almost straight and he is doing everything a baby of his age should. Zelda, I hope Holly let you know that she has agreed to bring up your son. It will be up to Holly as to whether or not he goes with you at the end of your sentence. He still cries for you, but he will, with time, get better.

“I wish, I wish you could have lived with us in peace. I know our ways are so different from those you were brought up with, they are contrary to all we were brought up to value too but we know them to be right for us, but more than anything, I wish you could have tried, at least until it was safe for you to branch out, maybe re-join the coalition. It doesn’t matter, now. I can’t get rid of the image of you, people who I thought had honour and would understand, you all encouraging the men to physically and mentally assault another person. What honour is there in 12 of you against one? I am ashamed that I wanted you to stay.”

“Wanheda” Jass called as Clarke was about to end the visit, “do not be ashamed; it is an honour to have had the opportunity to know you.”

Clarke looked at Jass, standing and accepting her sentence with dignity and nodded.

Chief Miller said that in a strange way the incident was good for his guards since it meant that they actually had some work to do rather than just walk around and look busy. He wished it hadn’t happened; but in the long term interests of the guard, they needed a wakeup call.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They can't allow any of those now detained to stay after the end of the five years, can they?


	28. New Possibilities, New Pains, New Plans, New Partners, New Performances

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's some good things happening, and some very bad. The people in all the bunkers have to struggle through and find what happiness they can until such a time as they can regain their freedom from the bunkers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to keep in the canon crop failure in the Polis bunker but I didn't want to dwell on it, I also didn't want Polis to be the only place to suffer so this is the result.
> 
> My apologies for any mistakes but I have just finished it and carried out only one proof read, which is usually not nearly enough. I hope you enjoy it anyway.

Just a week shy of the one year anniversary Areasi made an urgent video call: they wanted to show Mt Orlan some images they picked up from one of their drones.

The first set of images was of a valley, a green valley almost completely surrounded by hills or mountains which would explain how the death wave skipped over it. It gave those who saw it hope. The second set of images focussed on a small lake in the valley. There appeared to be a large boulder near the edge but as the image focussed, it became clear to see that the boulder was in fact a young girl: a wild looking, spear wielding young girl.

“We tried to find other people, but she was the only one we saw” Dr Schmidt said. “I think the radiation probably killed everyone else, but she somehow survived. What do you want us to do? I could get a drone to drop some food for her, she doesn’t look terribly well-nourished but we did get an image of her with a fish, but I don’t know what sort of vegetation is available to her. We haven’t seen any other spots of green nor any other water, our drones have a range of about 2,000 km plus what the cameras can pick up beyond that.”

“Can you get some fruit and veg to her, please? I’ll make arrangements to pick her up, or at least check that she’s not alone. It will take a little while to get there, if it’s where I think it is” Clarke said.

“It’s the centre of what you previously called Shallow Valley, which makes sense” Dr Schmidt said. A copy of an old map of the southern states was put on the screen and a green area was marked.

“I’ve got it, thanks. I’ll let you know how it goes.”

“She’ll be a hidden night bleeder” Luna said. “It’s not unheard of, but very rare because she would have had to hide her whole life for fear of the flame keeper’s scouts. I should be the one to go and get her.”

“No, I should” Octavia said. “I was the hidden second child who had to hide under the floor for my whole life. She and I will have much in common. I think the only questions should be who goes with me and what do we do with her when we get back?”

There was much discussion about the girl, whether they should be open with everyone, or even anyone not in the immediate circle. Clarke noticed that Roan was being quiet: in fact he hadn’t said anything, so she prompted him to give his opinion.

“If the blurry picture is anything to go by she could be your sister, Octavia. I think that you should to spend long enough with her to get her to trust you and to understand the position of pretending to be Skaikru so that the flame keeper can’t take her, if that is what she wants when the four years are up. She could perhaps change her mind then. You will need to spend enough time with her to teach her your language, and some of your ways. Perhaps others could be introduced to her slowly, but, Lincoln, it would be your sacrifice as well as Octavia’s” Roan said.

“It is a sacrifice that I would be honoured to make” Lincoln said. “I am only sorry that I cannot go with you” he looked at Octavia who seemed to have a lightbulb moment. “I cannot. It is known that I am not a nightbleeder so I cannot become one. Luna should go, make Derek one and the three of you go.”

“Take mom, too” Bellamy said. “I would go but we don’t know how long you will be and I cannot leave Megan for too long. We tell a few trustworthy individuals what the story will be so that they can back us up if necessary. We were never challenged with O, so as long as enough of the right people accept a story, I doubt we will challenged with this child.”

“I think mom will be devastated if she misses the birth of her first grandchild, Bell” Octavia said. “We should give her the choice, but I don’t know how well she will do with the long journey and having to camp in the back of a rover at her age.”

It was agreed that they would talk to Aurora and ask her what she wished to do – something that it irritated Clarke no end since it should have been a no brainer that the choice would be Aurora’s. Aurora decided not to go so it was agreed that Octavia, Luna and newly created black blood Derek would go. Raven cobbled together the strongest portable radio she could muster and reminded them to stay in touch.

They were away for six weeks.

There was a village with all the buildings in tact but all the people were dead. Octavia and Luna had to spend a couple of days dealing with the bodies before they focussed on trying to find the child. The child that was in fact a girl who could so easily be Octavia’s younger sister!

At first the girl tried to hide from them and almost led Octavia into a bear trap. Luna said that they had to take their time to show that they, too, were night bloods and keep saying that they knew how to hide from the flame keeper if that was what she wanted. It took some time to gain her trust, but once Luna explained their plan to her, and made a blood promise, she was happy, almost gleeful, at the idea of living in the same place as a flame keeper but making him believe she was Skaikru and Octavia’s sister.

When they returned they arrived with a beautiful young girl, aged about six, or seven, who really could be the younger sister of Octavia, they would have no problem with perpetuating the story that she had spent her whole life being hidden which was why she was kept apart from the others while she slowly tried to get used to being with more people. Her name was Madi, renamed Madeline and called Madi for short and as presumed, she was a natural hidden night blood.

Two days after they returned Megan went into labour.

Even though Bellamy was there for the birth of his sister, he was only a child then without the understanding of all the things that could go wrong: this time he was a wreck. Marta was the one to be the strong, supportive partner. Megan just looked at her husband fondly between contractions. It was Clarke who got Bellamy to man up and help his wives get through the delivery of their baby.

Bellamy had wanted to know the sex of the baby but Marta and Megan did not. “Sorry, Bell, but I have to follow the wishes of my patient and in this case, it’s Megan and what she wants” Clarke had said. Bellamy did get his way in finding out that there was definitely only one baby rather than twins, which was a relief to them all.

After nearly 18 hours of labour, Megan gave birth to a perfect baby girl – Millie. Bellamy confided to Clarke that he was glad they had a daughter because Marta and Megan had decided that if it was a son he was going to be called Beo, something he really wanted to avoid. Clarke couldn’t blame him.

The biggest problem came from wanting to be open about Bellamy, Octavia and Aurora’s true relationship. In the end they decided to admit that Octavia was an illegal second child, that remained hidden and Madi was a third. The story put out was that somehow the implants did not work on Aurora, and that they didn’t want anyone from Areasi or the Arkers knowing about Octavia and Madi so they were not to talk about their parentage to others. Luckily no one thought that the people from the coalition would be at all interested so the story never spread beyond the people they wanted to know.

Aurora was pleased to become a mother to another child, even if this one was a little wild. But as Aurora thought about it, her natural daughter was also a little wild. Vincent was an incredible father figure to Madi, patient, understanding and knowing when to be firm. Since Titus knew that Octavia, Bellamy and Aurora were night bloods, he didn’t think it odd when he discovered another sibling, also a night blood.

Emori was taking her time to get to know the new John Murphy. She had the perfect excuse to approach him.

“I wanted to thank you for your help after the Training Room incident” Emori said to John when she caught him alone.

“So that’s what they’re calling what happened, ‘The Training Room Incident’ instead of ‘The Brutal Attack By Twelve on One’?” Murphy was angry.

“No, that’s what I am calling it. I’ve no idea what ‘they’ are calling it, even if I knew who ‘they’ were” Emori retorted.

“Yeah, okay, sorry. You look okay now, better than you were anyway. I’m glad.”

Emori smiled at him and said that she was feeling better. “The friendship and support of everyone here is amazing: it would be hard not to feel better. Can I treat you to a hot drink and a piece of cake? I’ve got extra credits. Clarke said that there was no way I could be properly compensated for what happened to me, but at least by giving me the treat credits of the three that raped me I get something out of it. I didn’t tell her that watching her slice into their dicks and cut off their balls was pretty good compensation, or letting me do the branding tattoos; she might have given me the disappointed but understanding look that says she thought I was better than that!”

Murphy laughed with Emori and said that he would have given her the disappointed that you’re crazy look if she didn’t gain some satisfaction from those things.

Bad news came to Mt Orlan when one of the chicken flocks got sick. All the poultry in that flock had to be destroyed. It meant no eggs or fresh chicken for more than six months. They still had the powdered dried eggs that could be used in baking, but real eggs were no more.

Zoe received universal praise for insisting that where possible the animals should be split into two or three groups to avoid contamination of all should any get sick. While it was sad that they lost one third of the chickens, if it wasn’t for Zoe, they probably would have lost them all.

The room in which the sick chickens were housed had to be thoroughly cleaned before they could prepare it to home a new flock. It was determined that the illness stemmed from someone not being thorough in cleaning the coup. It brought home to everyone the importance of making sure that even the crappy jobs were done well and that short cuts weren’t taken. Megan thought that it probably happened while she was on maternity leave and apologised most profusely. No one thought that Megan should take a single ounce of blame.

“It’s my fault” Zoe said. “I am the one who should have made sure that the work was being carried out properly in your absence so the responsibility lies with me, not you. Your job was to safely bring a new baby into our world, and you did that; my job is the care and husbandry of our animals, I failed.”

It was a lesson to everyone, the wake up call they all needed that luckily didn’t come at too high a price. The reminder of why everyone had the same rations - everyone’s job was equally vital to the long term security of their clan, even the cleaning staff.

The people in Polis were not so lucky: their protein crop failed; a fungus infection. When the news got out there was a riot.

“I do not understand why people thought that stampeding and fighting to get to the current supply would help” the Commander said sadly. “We lost 74 people, and I am sorry but one of them was Gomery Green.”

Clarke froze: she remembered how Hannah Green reacted to the grounders after the death of her husband in the previous life, albeit it in very different circumstances. “How is everyone else? Any serious injuries?”

“Nothing serious. The deaths were mainly from those at the bottom of the pile of panicking humans so once order was again restored there was little to treat. The main worry is what we now do. Hannah was able to pull herself together to tell me that it would be about a year before we would be able to grow protein again and Maya tells me that we need protein to survive. She suggested that I ask for your advice.” The Commander said.

“Commander, can I first ask if you could have Costia spend some time with Hannah to help make sure she is able to heal from the death of her husband? You will need Hannah to be at her best to get through this crisis. The next thing you need to do is to produce more algae farms. Algae is horrible to eat but is very quick to grow and very nutritious, Anya knows this. Hannah will know what to do with it. In the meantime, I presume you still have your supplies of nuts, dried meat and fish, and you could cull some of your animals, no more than half of them so that you still maintain your base. Use your stores sparingly. Your people will lose some muscle mass, cut physical activity down to a minimum, training exercises to focus on balance, suppleness and concentration rather than strength. Even once you get your protein supply back to normal, you should gradually build up strength, maybe over the period of about another year. Tell your people to take precautions against pregnancies during this time. Also, talk to Wick: ask him if there was a way to seal an area for people to stay safe while we broke in to deliver some food if necessary, and how long it would be before it would be safe to open up the whole bunker again. You or other black bloods would need to be able to seal any breach to the bunker. I don’t know if that will prove to be possible, but speak to Wick to find out. Either you or Wick get back to me so I can make an ‘If absolutely necessary’ plan.”

“Thank you, Wanheda. I will take your advice” the Commander said.

“Commander, could you please tell Hannah and Monty that I am so very sorry for their loss and that Gomery will be deeply missed? Also, I am very sorry for the loss of your other people, too, Commander. The loss of any life is to be greatly mourned.”

The Commander was not surprised at how sincere Wanheda sounded about the loss of one of her people, but she was surprised at how sad Wanheda was at the loss of people who were not her own. 

It turned out that Wick thought that delivering food through one of the radio cable tubes would be the best bet if Clarke would be able to arrange for that. Clarke could do that but it was agreed that it would only be carried out as a last, or almost last, resort.

It turned out that they did eventually have to send food down to the bunker. Having spoken to WH and CD bunkers when the problem was first discovered, they, like Mt Orlan, increased their production of algae bars so that they could be easily sent down the radio cable tube. They also sent some nuts that easily went down. The Commander was warned to make sure that nothing was handled by non black bloods until it was safely de-contaminated. The people in Polis became relatively very weak, but they were alive and were able to remain alive long enough for the farm to begin producing normally again.

More bad news came from Polis: it seemed that Gina Martin and Kyle Wick had paired off and at the time that the protein crop failed Gina was just pregnant. Unfortunately she was almost at her second trimester when she lost the baby. Skaikru felt the loss because the baby would have been the first full Skaikru baby born on the ground. Roan tried to explain that to the people of the ground, the ending of a pregnancy was fairly common and so they could not fully appreciate the sadness that the people of Skaikru felt.

“On the ARC, it was not uncommon for pregnancies to end early, sometimes before the mother even knew she was pregnant” Clarke said; “but usually, once they got past 13 weeks, the baby was almost a sure thing. I think that it was probably the lack of the proper nutrition that caused this loss. So sad that it was pure chance that she was in Polis instead of here. Never mind, we hope for a better outcome next time for them.”

Raven remembering her friendships with Wick and Gina in the previous life, was particularly hard hit by the loss. Clarke thought that part of Raven’s reason for her personal feeling of loss was because it suggested that Kyle was definitely not the one for her and she was at a loss as to who it could be and she wondered if she would forever be alone, or moving from partner to partner.

Polis was relatively easy to help when their bad times came; Areasi was not. Whooping cough ran rampant through the bunker, nearly everyone became ill; the very young died, as did those over aged 35 to 40. Clarke was amazed that the original people of Areasi were not vaccinated.

“We were a clean site” Dr Schmidt, one of only 22 original Areasi people to survive, said. “We didn’t need to before we let others in and we didn’t think about doing it when they came until they started to get sick.”

“Just like I didn’t think to test for nut allergies and lost people because of it” Clarke lamented. “Is there anything that you think we could possibly do to be able to help you?”

“We need more anti-biotics and more workers, temporarily at least. Anything you can do to help with that?” he didn’t sound hopeful.

“I can definitely get some anti-biotics to you, not sure about the workers, what do you need specifically?” Clarke thought about which black bloods would be willing and able to go.

“Another engineer, hydro farm workers, someone to control the Arkers. The healthy grounders are doing what they can, and they’re very good with Aiden acting as a guide for them, but they will work better with someone who isn’t looking at them as if they were the devil incarnate” Dr Schmidt sighed.

“Can you accept someone in a wheelchair? If you can I’ll see what people who are able to go can do” Clarke offered.

It was decided that Bellamy, Raven, Aurora, Beppi, Rhodes and Ariah would go. Beppi and Raven would work for engineering, Bellamy would be guard and the link between the various peoples, Aurora and Rhodes could work in the farm and Ariah would assist in medical with patient care. Emori and Raven spent a little time making the rovers as comfortable as possible for the six people to ride and camp overnight. 

Ariah was warned that he would probably feel a little unwell during the journey due to the vaccine that he was given, but he would not become really ill. Luna wondered if all of her people should go to lend a hand but Clarke and Bellamy thought that she deserved to stay at home since she was gone for six weeks with Octavia and Madi.

Clarke didn’t go because she was the only medical expert that Mt Orlan had so she could not be spared. She also didn’t want to go because they, too, hadn’t thought about vaccinating all the people against the various common illnesses and she needed to begin that programme. All those originally from the ARC (except Octavia who, as an illegal second child didn’t receive any vaccinations) were covered, as were the new babies that arrived or were born in the mountain, but everyone else also needed to be covered. Polis agreed they needed to do the same but had to wait until everyone was at full strength: it would also give them time to synthesise all the required vaccines.

In Areasi, Raven was so pleased to be partnered with her mentor Sinclair for a while as she helped them catch up with all the repairs and maintenance that needed to be carried out.

Jackson was pleased to see Phillip Rhodes and how well he was doing. They caught up with how well Ben was doing as well. “I’m really looking forward to returning home to you all” Jackson said. “Not long now and we’ll all be back together.”

Rhodes did receive a lot of negative comments from those working in the farm. He had learned to ignore it all and just get on with his work. There was one particular incident that stuck in the mind of all those present. He could see that one of the watering heads was partially blocked meaning that the water was not being evenly distributed. Rhodes asked one of the grounder workers to remove the water head so that it could be cleaned.

“Get it yourself” the grounder replied. “Oh, you can’t because you’re a no legged freak who doesn’t deserve to live!”

“You’re right, I can’t get it myself because I’m a no legged freak, but my eyes clearly work better than yours since I can see the blockage and you apparently can’t and since I am here to help you to live, get the head so it can be cleaned out and help improve the food output to this section, please.” Rhodes was polite which seemed to shock the grounder so much he did as asked.

After two weeks, most of the sick people were well or on the road to recovery, and those who hadn’t caught the cough were now vaccinated. The repair work was just about caught up, and the farm maintenance and production was back to full capacity. 

Bellamy had given strong advice to the leaders about rules and punishments, and making sure all adhered to them. Aiden worked with Bellamy and the Areasi Guard to make sure that some of the clans’ people were trained to form part of the Guard so that they could play an active role in keeping the peace. Bellamy reminded Areasi that all public areas of Mt Orlan had surveillance that was recorded in case it was needed, as it was in the case against the Azgedans so they made sure to do the same. 

Ariah asked if he could stay since the healers and medical staff had a shortage of aides and he felt that he could be more useful in Areasi than Mt Orlan. A quick radio call with Luna and it was agreed that Ariah would return to Mt Orlan with Jackson and Sinclair.

Wells took the opportunity of Bellamy’s visit to ask about the possibility of him moving to Mt Orlan. Wells didn’t want any of the Arkers to know his thoughts at that time because he knew that his father would not approve and would take steps to prevent it happening. Wells could see how the different factions seemed to despise the other and he didn’t want to live with people who could think that they were better than others, when all it was is that they were different. Wells liked everything he had heard about life in Mt Orlan and that was what he wanted for himself. Bellamy agreed that as long as Wells told his father that it was his wish, after the event, might be better but it was up to Wells. For logistics, Bellamy suggested that Wells prepare himself to leave with the final convoy so that it would be too late for anyone to stop him. Bellamy said that he would make sure he was part of the final convoy so that Wells could hide his own belongings with Bellamy’s so he could just sneak out if he wished. Wells gave Bellamy two books that were his most prized possessions and he wanted to make sure that they would be there waiting for him. Bellamy gave a quick glance to the books and saw that one was a set of drawings by Clarke. He hoped that it didn’t mean that Wells was hooked on Clarke still because he would have his heart broken if he was. He decided to speak to Clarke about how much information she was giving Wells about her love life.

The five arrived at Mt Orlan to a hero’s welcome. Bellamy was so pleased to be back with his family; Auroroa was glad to be back with Vincent and her two girls; Rhodes was so happy to feel the arms of his son around him; Raven and Beppi were both so pleased just to be back home with all, or nearly, their friends. 

Bellamy gave Clarke Wells’ books to look after for him.

“Do you think he is still interested in you?” Bellamy asked, nodding to the thin book of her drawings. “He keeps that as one of his most treasured possessions.”

Clarke opened the book to the third drawing. “This is the only picture Wells has of his mother” she said. “I expect that as long as it survives he wouldn’t care if the rest got lost. I drew it for him on the first anniversary of her death when he started to panic that he might one day forget her. I knew he wouldn’t, but I’m sure you would feel the same sometimes if you lost your mom.”

Bellamy nodded his understanding. 

Roan was asleep on his side facing Clarke. His partial arm was resting on Clarke’s chest. Knowing that it would soon become dawn and Roan would wake, Clarke decided to just lie there and wait, absent-mindedly stroking at the soft skin around the amputation site.

“You’re playing with my arm like you normally play with something else” Roan groaned as he scooted closer to Clarke so she could feel exactly what he was on about.

“It’s so silky soft to the touch, I love stroking it” Clarke said as she continued to stroke the amputation site, but reached with her other hand to stroke with matching movements the hard cock begging for equal affection. “I did a beautiful job on this: it’s so smooth to the touch.”

“The way you are stoking that arm makes me think that it has a phallic importance to you and you think that something else is lacking” Roan snorted as he rolled on top of Clarke so that his hand could carry out some stroking of its own.

“I am so not into fisting and the girth of your upper arm is far beyond that so, no, other than the smoothness of the skin due to very fine work I did there is no relationship between your arm and your cock in my mind” Clarke smiled. “Although, I do love your arm, and I do love your cock, in fact I love all of this beautiful, strong body.”

Roan sighed with an exaggeration that let Clarke know it wasn’t real. “I feel so used. I love your heart and mind while you love my body. You are a ruthless woman, Wanheda. What happens when my body no longer pleases you? Will I be cast out from your life, no more in your thoughts than the last meal you ate?”

Clarke moved her hands so that one was stroking Roan’s chest, the other holding his face. She looked into his eyes so that she would know that she was utterly serious. “The thing I love most about your body is that it protects your beautiful heart and wonderful mind. As long as your body is able to hold those two things safe, I will continue to love your body for as long as I shall live” she promised.

Roan looked into Clarke’s eyes so that she would know he was serious. “And I promise to love this body that protects your heart and mind as long as I shall live. My heart and mind are yours, and I shall use my body to protect these belongings of yours to the best of my ability for as long as you desire me to.”

“That will be always, Roan. You hold my heart and mind, too. For you, I shall protect them as well as I can, for as long as I can.”

Roan smiled. “You know, we should make our bond more visible to outsiders. What are the Skaikru customs?”

“We have a ceremony whereby someone who is an appointed official, or a religious leader, asks us to make our vows in front of witnesses, and we wear metal rings on one of our fingers, something symbolic about the ring having no beginning and no end, just like love. I like the symbolism, but a metal ring is too easy to remove. What about Azgeda?”

“The two have to mate in front of witnesses. It demonstrates that they each belong to the other and no other may separate them” Roan smirked, knowing Skaikru’s prudishness.

“No to that. I’m not letting anyone else know about our sex life, nor do I want Raven to constantly rave about your ass to me” Clarke snorted.

“Then we go through the Skaikru route, or we just announce that we have bonded” Roan suggested.

Clarke thought for a moment and suggested that they get Emori and Lincoln to give them tattoos. “I could have a rowan tree with maybe icicles hanging on the branches on my bicep, and you could have a griffin looking at stars. What do you think?”

“I don’t know what a griffin is, but could it also have icicles, and some stars peeking through the branches of your tree?” Roan countered.

Clarke smiled and began to move her hands again, back to their original objects and said “I’ll work on a couple of designs for us to agree, but only if you get to make me come three times today.”

“You don’t give me much time to work with, woman. You know I like to take my time and we have to get up shortly” Roan grumbled as he moved his head to start kissing his way down Clarke’s body.

“One now, two later” Clarke compromised as she moved her cock based hand to lightly scratch Roan’s perineum while the other teased the shell of his ear, an area she knew he liked to pretend that didn’t affect him at all; but she could tell by the tightening of his thighs that it was as much an erogenous zone for him as it was for her.

“It’s a deal” Roan said as he bit on a nipple to send a pulse of pleasure straight to her pussy.

Clarke could not work out how to show icicles on a griffin without it looking silly. She eventually decided that the most prominent star should be made up of five icicles pointing outwards on Roan’s tattoo. The griffin would be flying into the night sky towards the prominent icicle star and other stars surrounding it. The rowan tree to decorate Clarke’s arm should be a dark reddish brown, with white icicles dripping off the branches, with a smattering of stars around the top third of the tree. 

Roan liked the designs and the two talked to both Emori and Lincoln to get their agreement to carrying out the body art. They both agreed, once they worked out how to make white ink! Emori suggested that Clarke and Roan leave all the arrangements to them, just to let them know who they wanted to make sure witnessed their bonding and they would make sure all the necessary people were there.

Naturally Emori and Lincoln went to talk to Murphy, Octavia, Echo, Luna, Raven and Bellamy about the plan. Raven offered to take care of the rings, knowing just the person to talk to – Kaylar, Ryan’s wife who was a metal jewellery worker; Murphy, with some upfront credits from Emori and everyone else promising to chip in offered to make the cake; Echo said she would make the inks; Lincoln offered to see to the drinks; Octavia the clothes; Emori would arrange for a video link to Areasi and to speak to Wells (the latter on Bellamy’s recommendation) leaving Bellamy and Luna to sort out the time and the place.

In the Detention Centre (formerly the quarantine) Routh watched the screen showing the bonding ceremony of his brother to Wanheda and he cursed them. Some boy in Areasi was asking them silly questions and when both Roan and Wanheda said they agreed the boy in Areasi said they were husband and wife, whatever that meant to the sky people. They also wore rings on their hands made up of silver, to represent to the ice of Azgeda, and yellow metal, to represent the warmth of the stars, interwoven to represent the two of them.

The freikdreina and the Trikru began the tattoos on their arms and Routh cringed in shame at the sight of his brother’s stump as he sat shirtless. How could Roan live with what Wanheda had done to his arm? If he had the means he would kill himself for what had happened to him and his mutilation wasn’t openly visible.

When the tattooists took a short break, a large cake was brought in, no doubt another stupid Skaikru custom, which the pair had to slice and then feed each other: it was sickening. The cowardly night blood, Luna, gave some sort of sick speech about how great it was that Skaikru were so happy to bond with those from the different clans, she even mentioned how one was bonded with a former mountain man! The whole lot of them deserved to die. How could they continue when Azgeda was all but wiped from the world?

Bellamy gave a speech on behalf of all of Skaikru and thanked Roan for taking on the pain in the neck that was Clarke. Routh was sure he must have misheard that. He then went on to enumerate all of Clarke’s qualities, making them sound like bad things, and added that he didn’t know if he would ever meet anyone brave enough, or stupid enough, to not only take on Clarke, but to also take on her mother. The other Skaikru made various exclamations to indicate that Wanheda’s mother was a very fierce woman. Perhaps Roan deserved some sympathy for more than just his arm.

Titus took it upon himself to repeat various messages of congratulations, from the Commander and her lover Costia, from friends in Polis, from Aiden, Jackson and Don Schmidt in Areasi. There was no message from Wanheda’s mother and Routh wondered if that meant she did not approve. He could not imagine that a strong, fierce woman would approve of a mutilated freak as a partner for her daughter, especially when that daughter was Wanheda. It might almost be worth trying to stay alive just to see Roan brought down by Wanheda’s disapproving mother: almost, not quite.

Jass watched the screen with pleasure. She remembered how Molly had told her that the King and Wanheda had not yet chosen each other because at the time they were concentrating on making sure as many people as possible survived praimfaya. Molly was clearly correct because there was now an air of relaxation about the pair. They had done all they could for everyone else and were now focussing on themselves and each other. Loving, and being loved looked good on them. She could almost forget that the King had lost part of his arm and that Wanheda was smiling while being tattooed by a friekdreina because no one at the ceremony seemed to think that there was anything amiss. Luna’s speech gave Jass much to think about; not least because she gave it while holding a completely normal looking toddler who when put down trotted off to someone else without a hint of a deformity.

Raven congratulated Luna on her great speech. “I hadn’t noticed how many matches included the different clans; I don’t think any of us did. I’m not sure we even think of ourselves as Skaikru since in theory that includes Arkers that we don’t want to be connected to.”

“I think you just think of all of us as people who live in Mt Orlan” Luna said. “As long as we live by the same principles, then you don’t care about anything else.”

“Yeah, I think you’re right. How are you coping with being shut in like this?” Raven changed the subject that for some reason was starting to send worrying signals to her.

“If my former chosen had survived, it would be easier, I admit; but having the children to care for helps. It will be better when we can build our homes outside, and hopefully the rivers will return. I find the waters very comforting” Luna confided.

“I know it’s not the same, but you can enjoy the fountain in the arboretum: if you don’t mind the risk of bee stings, that is, but mornings are usually bee free.”

Luna smiled at Raven and hugged her. “Thank you Raven, I shall remember that.”

One slightly tipsy evening led to the promise of some live entertainment. Raven, in an effort to forget about feelings that a certain woman was generating in her decided that she would allow none of them to back out from their eager, drunken promises. She went to talk to Cole and Marrietta and then started to search through the archives.

“No, not a snowball in hells chance am I doing that” Clarke was adamant.

“Forget it, Raven” Octavia agreed. “It was just some silly thoughts fuelled by an excess of alcohol, not going to happen.”

“What has she done?” Echo asked.

“Raven has made it almost impossible for us to not do a karaoke concert like we laughed about the other night” Clarke groused.

“What do you mean?” Echo asked, trying so hard to sound calm.

“I have talked to Cole and Marrietta and arranged for the concert to go ahead in eight days’ time. The notifications have already been sent to everyone” Raven announced. “We would have to have a real good reason to cancel now; and we don’t so we’ll do it. We can announce that the guys will do one next; then maybe try to get it so that there’s a regular karaoke night I’m sure there are some great entertainers out there and they just need some encouragement to come out to shine. Don’t worry, Cole and Marrietta have the organisation in hand, we just have to pick out the songs and I’ve already made a start on that.”

Emori looked at the others and just shrugged her shoulders and said “Come on, guys, it’ll be fun. We can have a couple of drinks beforehand to get us in the mood, and it will liven the place up a bit since it has become a little dull after your bonding”.

So the five women, all thinking that they were various shades of idiotic resigned themselves to giving a karaoke concert to entertain the people in the mountain. Clarke and Echo both wondered if their dignities would ever recover.

Cole and Marrietta had decided that Luna would be the MC for the night’s entertainment. It sort of made Raven cross because she had helped everyone choose the songs and had to talk to Luna about them all so that she could introduce them properly. Raven had concocted the idea of the concert to help take her thoughts away from Luna not make her more of a focus for them.

Although Polis could not get video coverage, they did have an open radio line so that everyone there could hear it. The WH and CD bunkers as well as Areasi had video coverage so that everyone there would be able to watch it. Areasi also sent a radio signal to the people on the ARC to enjoy. It was a good job that Clarke, Echo and Octavia did not know that or they would have balked. Raven was a little bit put off but it was Emori who talked her into just putting it all out there for everyone to see and hear and hopefully gain some enjoyment.

Luna opened the show by explaining how the show came about and how the women wanted to spread some happiness and enjoyment to others. The words to the songs, sometimes altered to make them more apt to the singer or the intended target, would be displayed on the screens so if others wanted to sing along, or get up and dance, they should go for it. The first song ‘Shout’, an old song from many years before the bombs by a British singer called Lulu was picked to get everyone in a happy mood.

Marrietta and Cole had rigged a stage with curtains and spot lights: it almost looked professional. It opened to the spotlight being on Octavia who drew out the first word of the song “We,e,e,e,e,el.”

The light then went onto Echo who sang “You know you make me wanna shout”.

Raven sang “Put your hands up!”

And so on. Each of the women sang a few words solo, with some parts sung with others as they expended as much energy as they could jumping around to the music. Of-course the grand finale was with them singing all together “And I fee,eel allllllllriiiiiiiiiight!”

The curtain came down to huge applause. No one was pretending that the singing was always in tune, or the choreography was good, but it was certainly entertaining.

Luna introduced the next song and explained that they all saved 15 seconds of their shower water to give the full effect. It was Octavia with “Singing in the Rain”.

A group song, “Sisters Are Doing it for Themselves” was followed by Emori singing “I will Survive”. There was some degree of poignancy to that song but soon the other women in the audience who knew Emori were also joining in with the chorus.

Next it was the ‘girl power’ song “Tell me What You Want” sung by them all followed by Clarke singing “Killer Queen”. Naturally it wasn’t “she’s a killer queen”, Clarke sang “I’m a killer queen” to much enjoyment from everyone, particularly her husband. The group then sang “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun”.

Echo’s version of “Mack the Knife” that she tossed out as she was playing with her knife, was naturally changed to “Echo the Knife”. It was amazing how much menace she managed to instil while also making it fun. Echo was followed by the group singing “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now”, with Raven being the final solo with “Holding Out for a Hero”.

The concert ended with the group, plus Luna who was up there with them, singing and dancing to “Let’s Twist Again” and encouraging everyone in the audience to join in.

“The next concert, in ten days’ time” Luna announced, “will feature our co-leader, Bellamy” and Luna had to pause for the cheers before she could carry on, “our queen’s King, Roan” to more cheers. “Titus will be the Master of Ceremonies and our other featured singers will be Lincoln, Murphy aaaand Gordon!”

Clarke, Octavia and Emori were almost having hysterics at the look on their man’s face. Then all the women looked at all the named men and couldn’t help but think that it was worth all the work, arguments and embarrassment to see the looks on all the named men’s faces. It was so well worth it and they couldn’t wait to see and hear what they performed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The men's concert (not covered) will feature group songs of Rock Around the Clock, Night Fever, Yellow Submarine (changed to Bunker Underground), The Way You make Me Feel, Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting, and We Are the Champions. Bellamy's solo will be Too Sexy For My Shirt, Roan's will be Wooden Hand (Heart), Lincoln Why, Why Why Octavia (Delilah), Murphy would sing Dancing In The Dark and Gordon I'm Your Man.
> 
> Have fun imagining that. I know i did.


	29. Freedom?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They're freed from the bunkers, some are freed from detention, and some others are freed from pain.
> 
> Clarke tells Roan about the previous life and they get even closer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: CHARACTER DEATHS, note the plural; some are sad, some not so much but if your're a softy have a tissue handy!

Wells passed on the news to the ARC that Clarke had married Roan. As expected it was not well received by Abby who could not understand why they didn’t wait until she had been able to be there to approve and witness. Abby asked if Clarke was pregnant.

“I don’t think so” Wells replied. “She was certainly glowing through the ceremony but I think she would have told me if she were. They will make the most beautiful children one day; that is sure.”

“Children” Abby said in wonder. “Not child, singular; but children, plural.”

“Hmm, yeah. I can’t see them limiting themselves to just one. They may want to wait until everyone is settled in their new homes, Clarke will still be only 23 then so they could do that but since Roan is a little older I don’t know. I promise to be in touch as soon as I hear anything, just know that Clarke is very happy and that Roan is a great guy who totally adores her.”

Wells didn’t know that Abby was concerned that her baby girl was being controlled by an older man. Clarke, in Abby’s very out of date view, was very naïve and not at all worldly so some smooth talking older man could easily prey on her good nature. Clarke was an important person in Mt Orlan, being joint leader despite her youth, and she could well be being taken advantage of by someone who had nothing to offer but charm. If only Wells had mentioned that the joking at the karaoke with Clarke’s song was because Roan was an actual king, and Clarke therefore a Queen she may have been a bit happier.

Routh got an idea for how the Azgedans in detention could kill themselves from a piece of acting that was shown on the screen. The actors called it a Mexican Standoff. Of-course on the screen the actors used guns to carry out the deed but they would have to use each other since the Skaikru has made sure that they had nothing they could use for weapons. 

Routh persuaded Bellamy that all the machines letting them talk to outside their rooms should be left switched on so that they could all talk to each other even though it wasn’t always very clear. Mistake. Talking in azgedesleng Routh informed the rest of the inmates of his plan and how they should carry it out.

“No” Jass insisted. “We should do as Wanheda insists and accept our punishment with dignity. If we wanted to kill ourselves we should have done it before we carried out the crime or remained outside the mountain and died in praimfaya.”

“We should have taken the mountain for ourselves and forced them to live by our ways” Routh insisted.

“We tried to take the mountain by force and they beat us” Yorke reminded Routh. “The Queen sent 200 of us and they took the lot of us and when we had that fight, they beat us at sword play, too. We would never win. We should have taken the opportunity that we were offered and learned to live their way, at least until we would have been able to leave and either re-join the coalition or find a place of our own because I know Wanheda would have helped us. Now we don’t know what will happen. Azgeda will end because of the late Queen, and you” Yorke was bitter.

“You insolent dog!” Routh was now angry. “I am your King and you speak to me with respect and you do as I say!”

“No, Roan is my King” Yorke persisted; “and if I have the chance to speak with him again I promise it will be with respect and I shall do exactly what he says.”

“That freak is not fit to be anyone’s King” Routh spat.

“At least he will be able to produce an heir” Jass retorted. “Forget your plans, Routh, for they will only end badly for you.”

“No, we shall do as I have said. We shall have our last meal, pitiful as it is, then we shall pray and then kill each other. That is an order, from your Prince, if not your King.”

Jass was right: it did end badly for Routh. Of the seven that tried to carry out the mass suicide of breaking each other’s neck, two were successfully dead; four were sore and had torn muscles but would heal; and one, Routh, was paralysed from the neck down. To Routh it was worse than being dead.

The Court reviewed the surveillance recordings and using Roan to translate heard everything said and saw everything done. They agreed to wait for five days then reconvene to determine any sentencing when they would know the full impact of the action on all the others.

Clarke and Roan were lying in bed and talking about Routh.

“What do you want to do, Clarke?” Roan asked.

“I hope you can forgive me for thinking this, but I want him to live long and suffer. I think death is the easy option and I don’t want him to get the out that he was looking for. What do you think?”

“Like you I don’t want him to get the out that he was looking for, but I don’t want the rest of us to have to pay to keep him alive when there is nothing for anyone at the end of it. As soon as they are left alone, he will die because no one except Skaikru of Mt Orlan would look after him. Keeping him alive until then merely prolongs his pain and takes the burden of ending his life from us. I want him to learn and grow the way Jass and Yorke have, but I don’t believe he can” Roan was honest.

Raven, having given up the fight against her feelings, and Luna were lying in bed talking about Routh, too.

“I want to give him the same pain he gave Emori” Raven was bloodthirsty. “We should have done it before this so he could feel exactly what Emori felt.”

“Raven, my fierce niron. He would have never felt the same pain that Emori felt, but I think he will feel it now, the helplessness, the inability to escape, knowing that it is in the hands of others. That is his punishment.

When the Court Council reconvened, together with Emori as the victim, all the opinions and thoughts were discussed. It was Emori who asked if she could have a couple of days to be Routh’s carer. She wanted him to understand exactly what it felt like to be completely in the power of someone else, she wanted to know if he could understand and empathise. 

Luna said that she thought that it would be cruel to both Routh and Emori because he was already in the power of his carers and he was displaying no sense of empathy, just hate towards both Emori and Roan; and bitterness towards everyone. “My strong recommendation is that he is put out of his misery, now.”

“It is part of our ethos that we can end the suffering of those who are not going to recover if that is what they want” Bellamy sighed.

“Emori, you’re the victim, I’ll go with what you want” Clarke said.

“Then put him out of his misery. If he has no chance to improve, either physically or mentally then there is no point in allowing him to continue to use resources” Emori said. “I don’t think that him living or dying will affect my recovery one way or another.”

Clarke looked to Roan and silently asked him. “Emori is right, we offer him the freedom from his misery now” Roan declared.

Bellamy looked at everyone and said “Okay, that is the proposition, that we put Routh out of his misery now, anyone opposed?”

There was no opposition. “Very well, I’ll go and tell him. Clarke, how do you want us to do this?”

“I’ll talk to him while I cut his femoral and brachial arteries. He won’t feel a thing and will just fall asleep and bleed out” Clarke said, sad but also relieved that the decision was made and it would be one less problem for later.

“I know you wanted him to live long and suffer, but it was the right thing to do” Roan told Clarke after the Azgedans had said their final prayers over Routh, and his body was cremated.

“I know. I think that more than anything I just wanted him to show some remorse: but he was never going to was he?” Clarke said.

“No, Niron, he wasn’t. You’re right about Jass and Yorke, though. There is hope for them. Perhaps I should go and spend some time with them, help them work through some of your control and balance exercises. Since they are on half rations it would be impossible for them to train properly” Roan suggested.

“You are a very good King, Roan, and an even better person. Your people deserve you even less than I do” Clarke sighed.

“Why would you say that? You deserve only the best and I and I am certainly not that” Roan was puzzled; and then it came to him. “Is this about what happened before? Perhaps now is the time for you to tell me all about the past time you were here. Bellamy said we met when I kidnapped you.”

Clarke smiled in fond memory for a moment and then realised that she should tell her tale from the beginning. “Much of the beginning is the same as the current life: I was a naïve 16 year old living in the best station in the Arc, training to be a doctor. One night I was woken up by an argument between my parents. Dad had discovered a problem that he wanted to tell everyone about, mom did not. The Arc was dying and there was nothing that could be done. I was on dad’s side thinking everyone had the right to know what was happening. Dad decided to make a video to release to everyone. Mom went to her and dad’s best friend to try to get him to stop dad. Unfortunately, mom wasn’t speaking to their friend, Theo; she was speaking to the Chancellor. The Chancellor decided that dad should be floated for Treason and I should be locked up in solitary confinement.

“I don’t know who had the idea to send the juvenile delinquents to earth before. But 100 of us were removed from our cells and forced onto a drop ship and sent to earth as test subjects. Bellamy, who wanted to get on to the ship to be with his sister, shot the Chancellor to sneak on board in the ensuing mayhem. He didn’t know that everyone would die if they didn’t come down and he did everything he could to make sure they didn’t because he knew he would be executed. One of the things he did resulted in the death of 320 people on the Arc and a lot of people in one of Trikru’s villages, I don’t know how many. It led to a war with Trikru. With Raven and Jasper’s help we blew up a bridge to delay their attack on us, killing some of them. When they attacked properly, once again with Jasper and Raven’s help I set off a ring of fire killing all 300 except Anya who was taken with 50 of us into Mt Weather. Anya was put into the harvest cages and we were mixed with the inhabitants. Once I realised something was wrong with the place I managed to escape with Anya. Anya was killed by Arkadia guards and I was shot. The Arc had come down while we were in Mt Weather.

“Other things happened, including Lincoln becoming a reaper and being cured, me killing Finn after he went on a killing rampage followed by an alliance with the coalition to take the mountain. Bellamy got into the mountain with Lincoln’s help and with Maya’s help once inside took out the acid fog so that an attack could be carried out. Before that happened, the mountain sent a missile to TonDC because that was where the Commander was at the time. Bellamy was able to get word to me about it and I rushed to warn the Commander so that TonDC could be evacuated. Lexa said that we had to let the missile fall so that the mountain people wouldn’t know about Bellamy. Over 200 were killed. My mom and Octavia were amongst those who didn’t die but neither of them ever forgave me for letting the missile fall.

“When we got to the mountain with the largest army ever amassed since the bombs, the mountain people made a deal with the Commander. They let all of the coalition people go but kept mine. They discovered that if they used the bone marrow of my people they could go outside. Of course they didn’t just take the marrow for two people and use a pain killer like I do when take it from the volunteers, they forcibly took doses by drilling into their bones until they were dead. I think that my people hated the Commander for that betrayal. Anyway, we, meaning Octavia, Lincoln and myself, managed to get in and thanks to my previous knowledge from the time there we eventually got to the control room and with the help of Monty and Bellamy I irradiated the whole complex, killing everyone inside who was not Skaikru, including Maya and her family who had helped protect us. I became known as Wanheda.

“I hated what I had become and couldn’t be with my people, for many reasons, so I wandered for a while. There was a price on my head. Everyone wanted the power of Wanheda. You had been banished, I don’t know what for, but I think it had something to do with the kidnapping, torture and death of Costia. I don’t think you had any direct involvement in it, but I don’t know: you should ask Echo, she would know. The Commander said she would lift your banishment if you found me and took me to her. You did, seriously injuring Bellamy, by the way; and because the Queen mounted an attack on the Commander Lexa went back on her word to you.

“Nia challenged the Commander and said you would fight for her. I don’t think you were overly enamoured with the idea of your mother having control through Ontari so you didn’t really fight that well and the Commander beat you, but instead of killing you she killed Nia and pronounced you King. You and I became sort of friends. The Commander and I became lovers. When Titus realised how close I was to the Commander he tried to kill me with a gun but instead killed the Commander. Ontari killed all the black blood children in their sleep so if you hadn’t warned the Commander about that possibility I would have done so. Ontari couldn’t ascend because Titus, realising his error, gave me the flame to protect on the Commander’s death.

“While all that was going on, Arkadia had an election and Pike became Chancellor. He was from Farm Station that landed in Azgeda and I’m sure you can guess what happened to most of the people. The children playing in the snow were killed as were some of the adults who tried to protect them. Other adults were taken as slaves and a few made their way to Arkadia and wanted all people of all clans dead. Azgeda, before you took the throne, wanted Arkadia dead. We were taking things from the mountain to help Skaikru get through winter and maybe beyond, but Nia forged an alliance with the one surviving mountain man and with Echo’s help blew up the mountain killing many of our people including Bellamy’s girlfriend. The Commander sent an army of 300 to help protect Arkadia but Pike and all his followers, including Bellamy, didn’t believe they were really there to protect Arkadia and gunned them down while they were sleeping.

“It would have been outright war then but for the City of Light. It was another of Becca’s bright ideas. If everyone took a first edition of the flame, anyone could swallow these chips instead of having them inserted into the neck of a black blood, their minds would be uploaded into some super computer and they wouldn’t have to feel the suffering of their body. They didn’t know that they were then controlled by the computer programme in charge of this little debacle; we called it ALIE, an artificial intelligence that took the visual likeness of its creator Becca and was actually the one to launch all the bombs in the first place. You and I, and others forged a bond as we tried to fight against the City of Light. Raven was the one to help the most. She had taken one of the chips to try to escape the pain from being shot and was able to find a way to free her mind long enough to tell us how to kill the chip in her, the only one to do so, and once the chip in her was out was able to tell us how to shut it down completely. Basically I had to take the flame and one of the chips and go into the City and find the kill switch, guided by Raven and aided by Lexa as she helped me fight to the switch. ALIE tried to persuade me not to kill it by telling me about the mega reactors failing and the death wave. She said that the City of Light was the only way to save the human conscious. I killed it anyway.”

At that Roan snorted “of-course you did, Niron. You are completely opposed to people living and being controlled.”

“They weren’t really living. My mom tortured me and tried to hang herself to get me to give in. You were shot for your troubles, too and barely survived. Actually it was my mom who saved you. With no Commander and Luna being the only known black blood and she refused to take the flame, you took control of the coalition as we tried to find a way to get through the death wave. We tried black blood but mom destroyed the testing chamber before we could fully test it. Then we found the Polis bunker. No one could decide how to share the bunker. I wanted to take the flame so that I could insist that we all have 100 spots for each clan but you wouldn’t let me because you knew I became a black blood through science rather than birth. A conclave was held to decide which clan would get control on the bunker. Octavia fought for Skaikru, you for Azgeda and Luna who said no one should get it, all her people had already died through radiation poisoning. Luna killed you. Octavia killed Luna.

“I knew that if Luna won, which is what I thought was likely, then no one would live so I took over the bunker while the conclave was going on: another thing that Octavia never forgave me for. Octavia won and declared that it would be shared by all clans, 100 spots each. Ironic that it was what I wanted to do. A few of us went to get Raven to go in the bunker but we ran out of time. There was a rocket that could take some people to the remnants of the Arc so Raven ordered a load of us about as we got it ready. I had to go to a tower to switch on the power but instead of being at the bottom of the tower, the switch was at the top and there was no way I would be able to get back in time to go with them. So I climbed the tower and Raven, Bellamy, Monty, Harper, Echo, Emori and Murphy set off in the rocket.

“Unfortunately I didn’t get the power switched on in time, Raven said another 30 seconds, a minute at the most, would have been enough. When I got back down the tower and ran to the lab I fell and broke my helmet so received a massive dose of radiation. I might have pulled through but I was too ill to help myself so I think I died of dehydration. I was alive for about a week without food, water or treatment. The Polis tower collapsed and broke the seal on the bunker so everyone in there died, or at least Octavia thinks everyone did. She said she couldn’t see how anyone would have survived. And that’s it. Everyone dead” Clarke finished.

“You said you and the Commander became lovers, did you and I ever do so?” Roan asked.

“Typical, that that’s what you are interested in” Clarke snorted. “No, we didn’t. I had a sort of calf love for Finn and ended up having to kill him. I had a brief fling with someone called Niylah. I then had a sort of admiration love for Lexa and she died in my arms because of me so after that, I wasn’t getting involved with anyone. No doubt I would have gotten over that if there was time, but there wasn’t. Lexa and I wouldn’t have lasted any more than Finn and I did because neither of them were equal loves, and by that I don’t mean rank, I mean the love wasn’t equal, or rather they didn’t work together. The love I have for you is matched by the love I feel from you. I’m not saying they are exactly the same, but they complement, blend, and strengthen each other.”

“You are correct, the love I feel from you for me only strengthens the love I feel for you. I’m sorry that I didn’t support you in taking command before” Roan said.

“You couldn’t. I would have allowed Azgeda only 100 places in the bunker and you hoped to get over 1,000. So you don’t hate me for all the deaths I was responsible for in the past life?” Clarke was a little hesitant.

“No. Just as I tried to do my best by Azgeda, you tried to do your best by your people. I’m glad we are one people and we don’t have to pick opposing sides in this life. So you have no more previous knowledge to help us get through what will happen when the doors are opened?” Roan asked.

“Nope, none. We do have the advantage of the technology to help us but that’s it. I think the Commander is going to have the hardest job because she will have to control all of her people and try to find somewhere for them all to live and work and Luna didn’t think that patch of green in Shallow Valley would support them all so we will have to help them out for a while. The farm in the Polis bunker was designed to work for five years: it is possible that it may be able to produce for a while longer if some people wanted or needed to stay in Polis, but I think that we may have to grow a bit and it will be hard to make sure that we only have people who are willing to live by our ethos: I don’t want another battle like we had with Routh, it’s not fair to anyone” Clarke was sad.

“Perhaps those already here might want to stay” Roan consoled, “and I think without Routh to wind up the others, there would have been fewer problems from the Azgedans.”

“Yeah, maybe, but we’re not keeping Titus” Clarke affirmed to Roan’s amusement.

Clarke was pondering something she should have given thought to previously. Octavia had asked for her implant to be renewed, as did a lot of other women, but Clarke never thought about it for herself. It wasn’t until Marta came to see her because she thought she was pregnant that Clarke really began to think about the possibility of her and Roan having a child.

“How would you feel about us having a baby?” Clarke asked Roan while she was sketching an outline of an idea for their village layout.

“Only one?” Roan mused, “I think I’m a bit more ambitious than that. I would prefer four.”

“How about we start off with one?” Clarke asked.

“That would be fine. Why are you …?” and Roan trailed off as it seemed to click as to what Clarke was trying to tell him. “You’re pregnant?”

“I think so” Clarke said. “I need to do a test to be sure, which I’ll do today when I get to the med bay, but I really think so.”

“That is, that would be, that, I mean I would be very happy if you are pregnant, but if you are not, I would be very happy to try to make you pregnant. Very happy” Roan was finally able to say.

“Excellent, do you want to come with me after breakfast so you see the result of the test as soon as I do?” Clarke asked, knowing the answer.

After a very quick breakfast to which neither of them paid much attention, Clarke and Roan made their way to the med bay. Clarke took one of the pregnancy testing strips and showed Roan the colour guide for him to study as she went to pee on the strip. 

The strip that Clarke peed on was getting darker: it had passed the ‘six weeks’ mark and after five minutes they both agreed it had settled very close to the ’12 weeks’ mark. Knowing that Roan would get a big kick out of it, Clarke locked the door and got out the ultrasound. Although it was difficult to use the wand, hold Roan’s hand and control her tears as she looked at the monitor and her husband’s face, Clarke managed to see, hear and feel everything as their baby was shown on the screen.

“Definitely only the one to start off with” Clarke smiled as she cried.

“I hadn’t even noticed that you are getting fat!” Roan laughed. “You are going to be adorably ravishing when you’re bigger. I can’t believe I’m seeing our baby. Is he well?”

Clarke laughed as she reached over to press some buttons on the machine. “Are you sure it’s a boy, it could be a girl, you know? But he or she seems to be fine. There are no apparent problems for an 11 week foetus. We can get more information at 16 to 20 weeks. Can we try to not tell anyone yet? I don’t think we’ll be able to last as long as the 20 week scan, which would be ideal, but I think I want it to be our little secret for a while. Marta will announce her pregnancy soon and I don’t want to upstage her. Do you mind?” 

“On one condition, that we have more children than Bellamy does” Roan agreed.

“But he has two wives to carry them, is this your roundabout way of saying you want to take a number two?”

“No my love; you are more than enough for me. Besides, I might lose out if you found the number two to be too attractive!” he laughed knowing that his wife was bisexual.

Clarke smiled and raised her hand to wipe at the tears on her husband’s face “I don’t want to share me or you with anyone else. Thank you for our baby.”

It wasn’t long before Clarke’s libido was raised a notch or two, or three, so it was a good job that Roan thought the swell of her stomach was adorably ravishing. (And he wondered how Bellamy had the energy to satisfy two wives when one of them was pregnant!)

Roan was correct that the baby was a son – Jacob. Jacob arrived five weeks before Marta’s baby daughter, Morwen; and 11 weeks before Emori and Murphy’s son, Otan. Naturally Clarke and Roan insisted that their son was the most gorgeous baby ever and that although the other babies were very cute, they just didn’t quite match up to Jacob!

It was nearly five years after the death wave and Raven was sure that the atmospheric radiation levels were safe, but it was possible that there were pockets where the radiation was higher so Clarke and Octavia went out and spent a day hiking around the mountain carrying Geiger counters sending data back to Raven to analyse. There were some slight fluctuations, but nothing significant. The next day Clarke, Octavia, Raven and Luna went to Polis to plan the removal of the rubble from the bunker entrance. While Raven was carrying out measurements, and doing calculations, assisted by Luna; Clarke and Octavia wandered around to look for any buildings that they thought could be lived in and checking the radiation levels. 

It appeared that the buildings had somehow absorbed some of the radiation so they were unsafe to spend too much time in. If anyone stayed in Polis, they would have to live in the bunker, even though they would be able to spend some time outside. Clarke didn’t know how anyone would take to that. They set up water catchers so that they could test the rain fall for drinkability in various places.

Raven decided that the easiest way to clear the debris was to blow it all up and then use the digger to clear away the mess. As long as they didn’t blow an actual hole through to the bunker it wouldn’t matter if they caused a small leak now. Raven was sure that it would just take a number of relatively small bombs to destroy the bigger pieces of rubble.

The Commander was informed of the plan and of the housing problem. She said that the first priority was to allow people to feel the fresh air as long as it was safe, and then they would consider where to live. They could survive off the produce of the farm for a while longer. Having spoken with Aiden, the Commander was firmly of the view that it was more important to get her people out of Areasi so they should be the first people to move to Shallow Valley. Clarke had heard about the tensions between the various factions there and had to agree. 

The area around the TonDC WH bunker had the same problems as Polis so it was agreed that everyone who was there who wished to, could remove to Mt Orlan once it was agreed to open the doors. The area around CD had no issues and the Commander said that she would instruct her people to stay there, provided they were able to obtain food and water, for a while longer.

Bellamy insisted on being the one to drive the digger to Polis. Clarke thought that he would regret it since it didn’t go as fast as the rovers so it took two days to get there. Octavia whooped it up riding one of the motorbikes around Bellamy in the digger while Raven, Luna, Derek, Luna’s three surviving Floukru children and Madi travelled sedately in one of the rovers. Aurora and Beppi also travelled sedately in a truck packed with camping gear and the bomb making equipment and materials.

It took three days to clear all the debris from the entrance to the bunker. Wick took another couple of hours to remove the secondary seal and repair the staircase. The Commander led the exodus to the desolated ground.

Even though everyone had been told what to expect on the surface, no one could quite believe what they were seeing. The city was completely destroyed; there was nothing that could be used to make fires, nothing that could be used to grow food, and nothing that could be used to quench thirst.

“We’ve collected rain samples and we need to test them” Luna said as she watched Octavia and Raven hug and dance around Costia and Maya, and only then greet the other Skaikru. “You can stay outside and explore, check all the buildings for any supplies, but you must return to the bunker for each meal and to sleep. Some of the buildings have retained too much radiation for people to spend too long in them. There is nothing other than the patch of green in Shallow Valley; no trees, no villages, no streams, no lakes, no plants, nothing. Once we’ve tested the rain water a few times, you can then know more for planning. Clarke has collected water from sites around Mt Orlan and so far they are good, but she wants to carry out tests on two more rain falls before she will assume that we can use the rain water for anything. With that in mind, is there anything you would wish us to do before we leave to begin testing around Areasi?”

“Luna, my friend, I thank you so much for your help and support and that of all of Skaikru. My people could not have survived without their knowledge. For now, it will be enough that we can spend some time out breathing the fresh air. We can all stay here while Skaikru carry out all their tests so that decisions are made with all the information. Please introduce, or reintroduce me to everyone” the Commander required.

Luna called all of the Mt Orlan people together so that they may properly be presented to the Commander. “Aurora and Beppi were amongst the first of Skaikru to come to the ground. You know Bellamy and Octavia, Aurora’s elder children, Bellamy has been blessed with two daughters from the Delfikru twins: you will remember Octavia’s chosen, Lincoln, who is not here since Clarke suggested only night bloods should be outside full time until all tests have been carried out; and we have Aurora’s youngest child, Madi. These are the youngest of my former clan, Raquel, Bennet, and Aba saved by a transfusion of nightblood marrow plus my son Derek who also decided to accompanied us; and finally, you also know my chosen, Raven who carefully calculated the correct amount of explosives to use so as not to risk damage to the bunker but to make as much noise as possible. I believe she encouraged the children to enjoy watching everything blow up.”

“Welcome to Polis. On behalf of all the people trapped, I thank you for all your hard work to free us from the bunker” the Commander spoke.

“You’re welcome, Commander” Aurora replied. “Would you mind if we mingled with the others and introduced the youngsters that they might not know? I promise that we won’t go far.”

They were all waved away except for Luna who shouted at her four youngsters to stay with Aurora and Beppi.

“It’s going to be even harder than we imagined, isn’t it?” the Commander asked Luna.

“Yeah, unless you have managed to merge all your different people into one crew, and can make the magic happen to the others, yes. Even with all the preparations and preserves we were able to make there is not enough land to feed us all yet. It is a good job that we followed Clarke’s advice and kept some animals instead of filling all the bunkers with people. You will have to learn to farm the Skaikru way. Select some people who took to the farm work in the bunker to learn how to grow with little land and all through the year and hope that Skaikru will be willing to build you a farm” Luna replied. “Actually, I know that they would be willing to build you one because they will see it as a need, but I also know you will want to offer something in exchange. I will consider what they might think of as valuable but you would have no difficulty in supplying. I’m sorry, Lexa, I know that you didn’t really think it would be as bad as it is; I know that no one really accepted how bad it would be so it will be very difficult for you keep your people hopeful. Liaise with Clarke; she will be able to advise you, better than Titus will be able to. I’m glad you have Costia to support and comfort you, but you also need friends, I’ve come to find that they are very good to have.”

The Commander looked at her people, her thin, weak but still alive people as they enjoyed their time climbing over the ruins of Polis and feeling the late sun the and breeze. Yes, it would be hard, but they would enjoy their taste of freedom before they had to knuckle down to work so they could enjoy their life of freedom.

The people from the WH bunker in TonDC were all happy to relocate to Mt Orlan, especially once they saw what had happened to their world. Even though sleeping accommodation in the mountain was a little cramped, (it was decided not to set up homes outside until it was decided exactly where their village, their woodland, corral, animal pens and likely water source would be) but people didn’t seem to mind cramped sleeping quarters when they were able to spend their day outside. The people at the CD bunker were content to accept that they should remain in that area for the time being and just enjoy the freedom of being able to go outside.

Raven, Luna, Derek and Luna’s other three charges drove down to Areasi in one of the trucks to test all the ambient radiation so that they could open the bunker as soon as it was confirmed that there were no hot spots in the vicinity. The hardest part of that release was removing the rover from the lift carriage since it had long since lost its charge. The Arkers as well as original Areasis’ knew how to collect and test the rainwater before risking being outside in it and were grateful for the chance to be free, the hope to escape the constant belittling of others.

Don Schmidt and Wells took Luna for a walk and private talk. Wells said that he had already told Bellamy that he wanted to move to Mt Orlan, but that it wouldn’t happen until his dad was in no position to stop it. Don said that he and all his surviving people wanted to move too and leave it to the Arkers, but not until they had removed all weapons from this place. The only people they had talked to about it were Aiden, Sinclair and Jackson, all of whom supported them.

“Sinclair is hoping to gain Raven’s help in transferring all the weapon codes onto one machine that can then be taken to Mt Orlan and kept in case needed, but without raising the suspicions of the Arkers” Wells said.

Luna asked if she could use the radio to talk to Clarke and Bellamy.

“We don’t want anyone here to know” Don reminded Luna.

“Do any of the coalition people, other than Aiden go into the radio room?” Luna asked. On receiving two negative shakes of the head she asked “Do any of the Arkers speak trig?” Once again she was in receipt of two negative shakes of the head. “Any problems?”  
This time the shakes were accompanied by smiles.

Luna used the radio to talk to Clarke and Bellamy about the wishes of the people of Areasi. Both Clarke and Bellamy agreed that they would be happy to take them. The accommodations and farm, together with the fish, chickens and rabbits could stay. The larger animals would either all go with Aiden to the coalition or live with the animals of Mt Orlan. The only issue was the frozen sperm. Clarke suggested that Raven or Sinclair be asked if they could rig up something to make sure that they would stay frozen long enough to be transported to the mountain and to ask Raven if she would need Monty to visit to assist with the computer work. Luna knew that asking Raven if she would need someone’s help was not likely to lead to a grateful acceptance until she had worked herself almost to the death to prove that she didn’t need anyone’s help. Bellamy then suggested that Wells be taught how to drive so that he could drive to Mt Orlan with some of the things they wanted removed before anyone noticed they were missing, like the guns. It could be talked of as just a visit since Sinclair and Jackson, if not Raven too, would be staying for a while longer.

The plan worked like a charm. Wells arrived with a rover loaded with firearms and more of his personal belongings. Luna and the children did leave Raven behind, but left with the promise that if Raven thought it would be better if Monty was there Wells would be allowed to bring him on his return.

The Commander asked if Titus could be brought to Polis; if Costia could stay at Mt Orlan for a while to learn more about Skaikru cutting of people and if she could be taken to Areasi with a convoy of her people to assist with the preparations to move to Eden, which is what she had decided to call the patch to fertile land. Since so many of her people perished in Areasi, they should be able to support some more for a little while, the Commander assumed.

Clarke got in touch with Areasi and it was agreed that a convoy would leave taking a total of 30 people to Areasi shortly. The first step, though, was the return of Titus to Polis which came a day too late for the people of Mt Orlan.

Many people were enjoying their time outside, doing nothing but running, shouting, laughing and breathing. That all came to a halt when Ben Rhodes suddenly fell to the ground and began seizing. Many of Ben’s companions had seen him seize before and all knew what they had to do. Charlotte ran to him to make sure he didn’t harm himself, shouting at one of the other boys to go and get Clarke, but she was grabbed by Titus.

“No” Titus intoned; “you must not go to him. He could harm you.”

“He won’t” Charlotte shouted; “I know what to do to keep him safe. Clarke taught us all what to do if he had a seizure” she insisted.

But Titus held on. “No, he is probably sick with something that he could pass to you or others and no one should go near him” he shouted the latter point making some wonder if it was a strange radiation mutated disease.

“No it isn’t” Charlotte was starting to get upset as she could see Ben banging his head, something that Clarke had told them they had to prevent. “He has epilepsy, this just means that he needs his medications increased.”

“Then he should be allowed to die” Titus was serious.

Clarke came running to see a crowd round an unconscious Ben: no one making sure he didn’t harm himself. She was about to berate Charlotte who knew what to do when she saw that Charlotte was being held back by Titus. She would deal with him later: Ben was her priority.

With Miller’s help, Clarke took Ben to medical where she ran all the tests she could once she saw that one of his pupils was unreactive to light.

Clarke told Philip to talk to Ben while she looked at all the test results and discussed them with Jackson.

Clarke didn’t need to look at the results again, but she did want to talk to Jackson to confirm her diagnosis. She called Bellamy so that he could hear the confirmation from Jackson and be with her when she told Rhodes.

“I’m sorry, I really am but there is nothing I, or anyone, can do for Ben to make him wake up” Clarke was almost crying as she spoke to Philip. “We can keep him breathing, his heart beating, but we cannot stop the bleeding in his brain, nor the seizures he’s having even though we can’t see it while he is sedated and each seizure makes his brain bleed that little bit more, and cause that little bit more damage. I know it is of little help, but I promise that he is no pain. I wish I could do more for him.”

Philip Rhodes held the lifeless hand of his beautiful little boy and asked “If you don’t turn off life support, how long before he dies, and how long if you do?”

“If we do turn off the life support it will be minutes, probably between two and five since the brain bleed is in the area that controls natural life support; if we keep him on life support, with the expected rate of brain deterioration, he will be brain dead within two days. I cannot tell when his organs will begin to shut down, but probably within a month or two. Eventually his heart will give out, and we might be able to resuscitate him but it will happen with increased frequency until such a time as we are unable to restart his heart” Clarke explained knowing that there was no point in pretending things were other than they were.

“Can you give me an hour with him and then send down his friends to come and say their goodbyes to him?” Philip asked.

That was what they did. After everyone who wished had come to say a few words to their friend, colleague, or classmate, Philip spent a little more time with him before the life support was switched off. It took three minutes and nine seconds for his heart to stop beating – Clarke counted.

Titus was arrested for being an accessory to the death of Ben Rhodes. He was placed in detention pending a court hearing. The trip to Polis was delayed.

As requested by Philip, Ben was buried by the remains of the drop ship. The service was shown on the screens in Mt Orlan because they could not transport everyone who wished to attend. 

Titus watched with perplexed amazement that the death of a defective child of a defective father could have such a profound effect on these people. He was even more amazed when Lincoln spoke about how much he would miss Ben because of how very good he was with the horses. “I have never come across anyone who had such a natural and profound affinity with horses as Ben; he was born to work with horses. Ben had no fear of them, and they had none of him. Ben loved them and they loved him. His presence will be sorely missed by the humans and the animals in the stables.”

Philip spoke about proud Ben was when Bellamy gave him his first job the very day they landed on earth and how since that day everyone, particularly Bellamy, Clarke, his best friend Charlotte and, more recently, Lincoln, made sure that Ben knew he was loved and valued by more than just his parents and Philip would never be able to thank them enough for that sense of belonging that Ben had on earth but never on the Arc.

As the final shovel of dirt was placed over the grave they recited the Traveller’s Blessing, holding extra poignancy over the phrase ‘final journey to the ground’.

The next morning Philip Rhodes’s body was found. Without Ben he no longer had the strength to continue to live in pain. His note expressed his sorrow to Clarke and Bellamy for leaving them another worker short and for the extra work of his funeral, but he asked if he could be buried next to Ben. He ended by thanking them for everything they had done for his family and stated his surety that the people of Mt Orlan would only prosper under their thoughtful and inspiring leadership.

The Court decided, after hearing from Clarke that it was impossible to tell exactly when the blow that caused the brain bleed happened, and that it could even have happened as he fell to the ground before anyone could have reached him, that they could not find Titus guilty of being an accessory to Ben’s death. They did agree that his complete and blatant disregard for Ben’s welfare meant that they felt the four days in detention on half rations was completely justified (the trip to Polis had to be delayed again to allow for Philip’s funeral).

The Commander informed Titus that she was leaving him to chair the Council of clan leaders that she had set up to oversee things in her absence while she was helping Aiden to lead her people in Areasi to Eden and planning how to proceed. His main role, she assured him, was to just make sure everything continued as it had been since they were released from the bunker.

Once they were on their way to Mt Orlan, both the Commander and Costia expressed their deep sympathy at the loss of both Ben and Philip Rhodes. Bellamy almost teared up as he thanked them. “Ben had wormed his way into many people’s hearts with his kind and loving nature, and the horses really do miss him. I think Philip taught many that having a disability did not mean that you were completely unable. I know Roan may not have recovered as quickly or as well as he did if it wasn’t for Philip. Roan much admired him, as did all of us who fully appreciated how much he lived in pain, all for the love of his son. Both of them, for different reasons, were an inspiration. The only comfort we have is that they are together and free from endless pain.”

The Commander nodded her agreement and asked about the others who lived at the mountain who had been shunned by her people.

“Well you know about Roan and my wives; all three have thrived with us. Derek, Luna’s son was born to one of the Azgedans and rejected because he had a clubbed foot. Clarke and Jackson tried to tell them that the foot could be treated but … . Well, he now looks completely normal and has a loving family. We also have Emori, the woman who was gang raped. Her hand is extremely large. Clarke operated to separate her fingers where they were fused but has said she doesn’t want to operate to make the hand smaller because it could reduce its use quite significantly since various muscles and nerves would have to be cut as well as the bones. Emori has accepted that and is grateful that the separation means that for all practical purposes her hand is as normal as anyone else’s, except for Roan’s of-course, it’s just larger. Raven is universally accepted as the most important person in the mountain given that if anything breaks, she’s the one to fix it, but Emori is now regarded as the second most important. She’s been complaining a bit that when Wick and Sinclair come back she’s going to be demoted to fourth!” Bellamy smiled. “Emori gave birth to a son about the same age as Jacob. I’m not sure which one is going to be the bigger trouble maker.”

“If it were not for Octavia I would suggest that girls are easier to handle” Costia laughed; a comment with which Bellamy could only agree.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hate to say it, but I always planned for Ben to die but I wanted him to have a great life on earth beforehand. Philip was needed to help other disabled (grounder) people know that they were no less valuable because of their injury, or sickness or mutation. I was unsure what to do with Philip but I realised that his character would not want to continue to live with all the physical pain he was in without his son, so he had to go too.
> 
> Other than Hector, who has to go, I'm still not sold on what happens with the other Azgedans: any views?


	30. Questions, Answers, Explanations, Concerns

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone can leave their bunkers and preparations have to be made so that the green spot in Shallow Valley can take the coalition people and steps can be taken to start bringing those on the Arc down to earth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a bit of a filler. Not a lot happening, but some scene setting for things to happen in the next couple of chapters.

“I strongly suggest that you take a few very trusted people to Eden to remove all remnants of Shallow Valley otherwise you may have a mutiny on your hands at some point” Luna said. “You will probably end up having to destroy already built homes and other buildings, but I think it very necessary. Anyone who ever visited that village will recognise it straight away as it is.” Luna wondered if she had given too much away but luckily Lexa thought the details had come from the likenesses shown by the people at Areasi.

“I informed all the clan leaders that I did not know exactly where the patch of green was except that it was somewhere in the south, probably Glowing Forest, Shallow Valley or Broad Leaf and asked them all to swear that the small area will belong to the coalition as a whole that we would all live and cultivate to expand the patch. The three were reluctant, but when it was pointed out that we didn’t know which, if any, of their territories is was actually in if they didn’t agree they could end up homeless. I also pointed out that other than walking, they had no way to return to their previous lands without the help of Mt Orlan. But you’re right, once it becomes known that it is Shallow Valley land, there could be some sort of rebellion” the Commander agreed. “I shall have to make sure that no one feels they need to and that they know it won’t succeed if they tried. I suppose it is possible that the three could try to form a coalition to keep it for them, but I think it unlikely.”

Raven suggested that she come to help clear the buildings and to plan out roads that would alter the area a bit. Madi had spoken to Raven and Luna and told them that one side of the valley was riddled with caves that anyone from the area would recognise so Raven suggested that Shallow Valley people be housed on the other side. Close mapping by a drone allowed Raven to show both the Commander in Mt Orlan and Aiden in Areasi the contours of the valley, its size and the type of flora there, as well as note some animals that had been spotted. “Maximum it can support at the moment is 1,000. With the animals that you have you could make it a few more and if we build you a large hydroponic farm we are probably looking at around 1,500, but you would have to wait until the farm was set up and producing to full capacity to feed that many.”

“What can we give you in exchange for you to build us a hydroponic farm?” the Commander asked, now familiar with the once strange word.

“Clarke has suggested a few things that individually might not be much but they all add up” Raven began having been fully briefed by Clarke and Bellamy. “One thing that she would like you to do is that if there proves to be fish in the lake in the valley you leave all the fish in the river in Areasi. You shouldn’t need the fish and there’s the difficulty in transporting them and the possibility that they won’t take to the water in Eden and they would be useful to the people in Areasi” the Commander nodded since it was a logical suggestion. “We will find it very useful to have some more help in preparing an area for the shuttle to land. I am suggesting that ten of your strong people be used for labour, for no more than ten days, probably less to make a safe runway” Raven said and smirked at the raised brow that suggested the people of Mt Orlan were obviously weak. “Hey, we can do it without; it will just be quicker if we have help! If any of the Azgedans that we currently house wish to join up with you, you accept them. However, if you agree to take them Hector must never leave Eden, otherwise he will be relocated to Montreal in north Azgeda with any who wish to join him.” The Commander knew why Hector was the exception and again nodded her acceptance. “Once you have taken all you want from the three bunkers in your territory, you allow us to take anything else remaining that we want from them unless some people still wish to live in them rather than move down to Eden” Raven added thinking that she couldn’t imagine any grounders wanting to continue living in a bunker when they didn’t need to. The Commander again nodded to indicate her agreement, like Raven thinking that none would wish to continue to live in a bunker when they did not need to. “Finally, and this is the real issue, the formal territory for Mt Orlan expands to include much of the south of Azgeda and the Lake People land, the northern half of Trikru, Rock line and Blue Cliffs, plus all of Boat People land, the exact border can be negotiated if any of your people wish to try to make their home in the former clan lands.”

This last point caused the Commander to think hard. It was true that currently the lands were practically useless, she had seen as she had been driven from Polis to Mt Orlan, but she hoped that the same could not be said for very much longer. She then remembered that Clarke had said that her people had thought that it would take another 100 years before they could return to earth.

“I agree in principle to the formal transfer of territory but would like to negotiate the exact border using, where possible, natural landmarks” the Commander finally agreed, after all she would have all of the rest of the coalition territory to expand in the years to come.

“Okay, then we suggest that we build you two farms so if one fails you still have the other, to be housed on otherwise useless land, Hannah should be the one to help you choose the sites and the plants to be grown. We think allocating an area for each clan along the perimeter would be best with Heda’sville or Heda’s town in the centre. If you want them to trade with each other then you know the resources you have best and who could make the best of them and allocate them so that every clan has the chance to thrive. Alternatively you could be more centralised with it all controlled by you and your team. But you’ll need to know how you want to organise before you bring people here to settle rather than just work to prepare for settling” Raven was sure she was preaching to the converted but she thought it would give the Commander time to organise her thoughts.

“If I give you more of my people to help you with your landing path, build your homes, can I have more of yours to clear and survey the land?” the Commander asked.

“I’m sure that will be acceptable. We can make use of the drones for much of the planning. I know Clarke has been speaking to all the different clans people we have here. She said that it was so she could get a feel for them for a mural she planned in the main hall. Anyway, she does have a suggested outline for areas if you’re interested, she also suggested that there should be clear roads linking each clan to the central Heda’s town and each clan to its neighbour” Raven said.

The Commander agreed to everything said and thought that the person she really needed to plan with was Wanheda.

Clarke was able to use drone footage to show the Commander a visual of Eden. An outline of the green area, Eden, was shown on one screen, divided into the suggested 11 areas.

“This appears to be the only village in the area. The main building is a church. Given that it is pretty much in the centre I suggest that this be your area and the church be repaired to be your home and parliament. It will be obvious that it is Shallow Valley so I think you will have to come clean to everyone once you have their agreement to the broad outline of land allocation. Opposite the church/parliament you could have the main Healers’ Centre and there could be a large market for trading, stables, and whatever else you feel your area needs.

“Each clan area has access to fresh water, and in exchange for a more generous land settlement, we will send some engineers to build water pipes so that clean water will be available over all the 11 main settlements and the farms. I don’t know how you want to allocate the resources you have, and I don’t know how much of the goods stored in the caves survived yet, but you might want them all to completely independent and share everything out equally, same per clan, or per population; or you might want to give each clan some basic supplies and share the rest out to match the clan specialities.

“To start with, I would mark the boundaries, it could be something that would soon rot, but would be clear for the start. When the land is cleared, let the leaders, builders and farmers go with some rations and tents to their areas so they can make their settlement plans.”

The Commander pondered Wanheda’s words: she could allow for clan specialism so that they would need to integrate to share their resources; or they could be allowed to be more separate and only use the market to exchange excess. In any case, it would probably be necessary for the centre to be fully self-supporting and allow for the Heda to distribute bounty when necessary or desired. Regardless of the path chosen, there would be some changes necessary.

“Could you give me a parchment drawing of the outline that you suggested, please except make the central area a little bigger? I need to return to Polis to speak with the leaders and Titus. Could you accompany me, please?” the Commander asked.

“Very well, but he might not be pleased to see me since we put him in detention; and Roan and Jacob will be with me” Clarke agreed.

“I’m sure that some leaders will be glad to see King Roan happy and will respect his words as being impartial. It will be good for your people to see you, too” the Commander added.

“That is as maybe, but none of my people will be pleased to see Titus since they know what happened to Ben and his dad and it is almost certain that he is responsible for their deaths; and even if he wasn’t responsible, he made sure that Ben didn’t receive the help he needed. It is possible that even if it was a very early blow that started the brain bleed, stabilising his head could have prevented it from deteriorating to the level it did. Ben’s death led to Philip’s death and I am so mad at Titus that I want to make him pay. However, since I cannot prove that Titus is responsible I cannot punish him; but if our medical knowledge ever improves to the point that I can be sure one way or another I will take the appropriate action – either to formally let him know that he is no longer a suspect in the deaths of Philip and Ben Rhodes or to request his extradition to Mt Orlan to be charged in connection with the deaths of Ben Rhodes and Philip Rhodes; but unless he is returning as a prisoner to face charges, he is no longer welcome in our territory” Clarke said making it clear that Titus is persona non grata as far as Skaikru of Mt Orlan are concerned.

“I understand and accept your anger and frustration over Titus” the Commander said not adding that she was concerned for her own people because of his inability to adapt and wondered if there were any extra steps she could take to protect Costia. At least she knew that Titus would not think it his duty to kill her because he knew that the next Commander would be Aiden who had grown away from his influence over the past five years, as had the other night bloods.

Echo didn’t quite trust anyone to protect the little prince in the strange place filled with strange people so she travelled to Polis to keep Jacob both entertained and safe while his parents were in meetings. The fact that she was able to do that while hanging out with Maya, and getting to know Jasper and Monty a little better, was purely incidental.

The Commander put the option of specialisation of resource allocation or of initial equality in allocation so the clans could exchange as they wished. She outlined the idea of a central parliament, healing centre, market, and the arena for competitive games that she wanted. The clan areas were outlined and plans for water distribution and road clearing.

“Why are you doing this?” one of the leaders asked Clarke. “Why are you helping us? You could have taken this land for your own and we would not have been able to stop you.”

Clarke looked at Roan as he smirked and shrugged his shoulders at her. Roan knew that any other clan would have done exactly that.

“Because it would be wrong to do that given that it is in coalition territory” Clarke sighed. “Our price for helping you to move and get established in the only patch of green that we have found on the whole of this part of the world is for an increase in the territory belonging to Mt Orlan. Currently the land is dead and almost useless but it will not always be so and we do not want to live trapped inside the mountain; we will need land to build homes and to find a way to make our plants grow and to be able to keep our animals outside. We also want to plan reforestation, and if what we do works, we’ll let you know how to replicate it and hope it works where you are, but the conditions will be different so it may not. The proposal gives you all room to expand outwards if the land reclamation does work. 

“We can live in and around the Mt Orlan bunker and grow from that over years, generations if necessary, but you don’t have that option with the Polis bunker and need somewhere to live now.”

The clans discussed, argued, questioned Clarke and Roan, and finally reached agreement: they would not take all the help being offered by Skaikru without giving something in return.

Skaikru would try to ensure that Areasi as well as themselves have no guns, but definitely no many-multi-faya guns (as the clans called automatics); Skaikru will share all knowledge on success of reforestation, Skaikru will arrange for the boundaries to be marked as agreed, roads to be cleared as agreed and to transport the people, animals and goods of the coalition as agreed; Skairkru will make sure that the main village of each clan has access to water; Skaikru will provide five hydroponic farms across clan borders so that all have access to one, with three of the farms to cross into the central area, and each year, Skaikru will carry out maintenance of the farms and check the water supplies; all clans plus Heda’s central receive equal share of all coalition assets; people of Heda’s Central to vow to set aside clan loyalties and serve the coalition as a whole. In return for their generosity, Skaikru will be given all the territory of the Boat People, Lake People, Sankru, Azgeda, Delfikru, and the northern part of Trikru, Blue Cliff and Rock line. Plains Riders land and beyond will be free territory. Hector, formerly of Azgeda will work for the Commander and be denoted as splita; and up to three other Azgedans will also be accepted but with the same status unless he chooses to be exiled to Montreal. Children born with mutations will no longer be left to die but advice and help will be sought from Skaikru on how to minimise disability which will be given gratis and if the child is still rejected by the coalition it will be adopted by Skaikru. The final benefit for Skaikru is that the coalition people will help prepare a landing place for the large mechanical bird. The final issue agreed was that all trade agreements between Skaikru and coalition clans must first be approved by the Commander.

There was one issue that both Roan and Clarke agreed upon: they should not be officially called Skaikru any more since they had many people join them who had never left earth.

“Now that it has been agreed that we hold all the territories of the north, we should be called Northerners, or Northernkru” Clarke declared. “Northerners are people of the north and all of us who live in Mt Orlan are now people of the north.”

The clans graciously agreed.

The Commander later told Clarke that she had also managed to gain agreement that night blood children’s parents could also be housed in the central area, or have visitation with their children if they wish, and that only novitiates wishing to take part in the conclave will do so as long as those not taking part swear loyalty to the new commander.

Clarke thought that she gained far more than she conceded. When she said as much to Roan he pointed out that many of the things the Northerners were offering as per the agreement were things that they would have offered anyway, and some of the things that she was gaining were things that the Commander recognised the logic of and would have agreed to without any incentive, so now she probably thinks that she has gained so much all in exchange for some useless land.

Raven, Luna, Lincoln, Octavia and a contingent of 15 of the former delinquents all went down to Eden to help clear roads, mark boundaries, clear the village, make safe and weatherproof the church (the real work would be carried out by the building experts of the coalition), lay the foundations for the hydroponic farms including the water and lay some water pipes and standing taps to where they think the centre of all the villages will be. Madi had said that there were many traps so that they had to be careful before they put their feet anywhere or they could die.

Care was taken to make sure that any trees cut down were properly apportioned between the 11 villages so that they could be used for either fire wood or for building homes; and that any demolition allowed for as much of the material to be reused as possible.

The delinquents showed the Commander how to make a safe, warm and waterproof cabin quickly using the thinner flexible branches from trees, some thin sheets of metal and some vines and reeds. They built the med centre with three patient beds (separated by portable screens), a staff bed, a metal operating table, shelves for storage, a table and chair, a fire pit with chimney and as a gift, added some solar powered lights that could stay on all day.

Raven suggested that one day they could barter for a wind turbine or two so that the whole valley could be lit up when necessary, or, if they could find the raw materials, buildings could be heated without fires. “But that is very much in the future, I’m afraid” Raven lamented. “We need to get everyone set with the basics before we turn to the luxuries. It will give us something to look forward to.”

Four of the warriors who had already swore to forego their clan allegiance and dedicate themselves to Aiden were tasked with the job of making sure each village had an equal share of all the stores with any balance being given to the Heda to disperse as she deemed appropriate.

Bellamy, Nate and Roan explored all the caves that had been marked on a tablet to discover what had survived priamfaya. Everyone was really pleased to learn that everything that had been placed deep in the caves had survived and would be transported to Eden. Everything except the animals would be there before the people. The large animals would arrive after all the people, the smaller ones when the Commander thought that they would be housed properly.

It took three months before the Commander was satisfied that everything possible had been done to prepare Eden for her people.

Each clan leader was advised to pick six people, including themselves, from Polis or Mt Orlan and six from Areasi. They would be transported to their area of Eden so that they could plan and prepare what they could and then choose more to arrive from Areasi. All the clans people had to leave Areasi before any more could leave Polis or Mt Orlan. Don said that those leaving from Areasi would be given one week of rations each in the first instance: more if they could be spared later.

Wells told Clarke that many of the Arkers weren’t happy with that offer, thinking that all excess food should be preserved for those that come down from the Arc. “Don pointed out that if the Arkers didn’t like it, they could always leave now that the air was breathable and find their own place to settle” Wells said.

Clarke snorted, knowing how selfish many from the Arc still were. She told Wells about the agreement to leave all the fish for Areasi and hoped that would appease them somewhat. Wells said that he wasn’t going to mention it because they would just try to prevent anyone from fishing in the meantime.

Once each village had at least 20 people living in Eden, the Commander declared that they should all prepare an area for rabbits and for chickens. A proportion of the total available would be brought as soon as could be arranged. It would allow the people of Eden have eggs and to start making their own decisions about size of flocks and preparing for their future. Luckily it was Aiden’s job to make sure that the correct amounts of rabbits, bucks, hens and cockerels made it on to the truck. Because there were some rabbits in Eden, the Commander said that they could leave some in Areasi if the people wished. Wells sent his thanks as he gratefully accepted the offer on behalf of the Arkers.

The last of the coalition people, bar Aiden and three of his guards (three had died in the whooping cough outbreak) who remained to look after the animals, were resident in Eden. Wells radioed the Arc to tell them to prepare the shuttle to start bringing people to earth. He also contacted London and Berlin to warn them to make sure that the runways were smooth and solid. Since they hadn’t even thought to check on the runways, let alone make any repairs, people from the Arc would be taken to Areasi before the people in Europe, or at least some of them.

The first shuttle trip brought most of the Council, including the Chancellor and Clarke’s mom. Clarke was not best pleased but knew she had to somehow find the strength to be gracious.

“You didn’t tell me you were pregnant!” were Abby’s first words on seeing Clarke.

“I thought Wells kept you up to date with my life, mom” Clarke retorted. “Anyway, welcome to Mt Orlan. I understand that you will be on the last convoy for this cohort down to Areasi and will be staying with us for a while. Bree has arranged accommodation for everyone. It’s probably not as comfortable as you have become used to, but it is only temporary and I’m sure they have made everything ready in Areasi for you. You will have a chance to get to know Roan and Jacob and at least now you’ll be in Areasi we can video chat. Jacob will like that: talking to Wells makes him feel so important.”

“Clarke” Abby interrupted, “you’re talking as if I should know who this Jacob is.”

This time Clarke was a little surprised. “I honestly thought you did. I thought Wells kept you informed of what was going on in my life. I know he told you I was married because he told me you didn’t seem to be very happy about it. Maybe that’s why he didn’t tell you anything else. I guess we’ll have to ask him. Anyway, Jacob is my and Roan’s son: he’s 18 months old.”

“You have a son; I have a grandson” Abby was shocked, although why she would be Clarke didn’t know since she and Roan had been together for nearly five years. “And you’re still with this Roan?”

“Yes, mom, of-course I’m still with Roan. Why would you think I wouldn’t be?” Clarke was puzzled.

“Well, I think I thought that once the excitement of your circumstances settled you would realise that he wasn’t right for you after all” Abby dithered, “you know, too old for you”.

“Mom, Roan may be older than me, but neither he nor I think he is too old for me, or that I am too young for him. I understand that the betting was when we would get together, not if, and that was going on long before the death wave. I don’t understand why you would think that I would be stupid enough to bind myself to someone, have children with them, if they are not the right one for me” Clarke was getting cross.

“Clarke” Abby was patronising, “you are still very young and have lived a very sheltered life. You know nothing about smooth talking charmers who can offer nothing but a brief good time inevitably followed by heart ache. Anyone could take advantage of your gullibility and you wouldn’t see it until it was too late. We all know that you and Wells belong together, and I really think that Thelonious was wrong to not let Wells join you here so that you could grow up together and then join us in Areasi leaving this place to the factory people and exiles from the coalition.”

Clarke looked at her mother in amazement before she suddenly started to laugh. Abby didn’t know what was so funny and wondered if perhaps the pressure Clarke had been under while she was in charge had finally gotten to her and she snapped.

Clarke led Abby into a room with many people: Abby recognised Raven Reyes, and one or two of the other faces looked familiar, but that was all.

“Hey, can I ask you all a few questions?” Clarke asked the assembled crowd. “Who here thinks that I am young, naïve, and have lived a sheltered life so anyone could take advantage of me and I wouldn’t know until it was too late?”

Abby was taken aback at the howls of laughter that followed.

“Please tell me you’re not serious” Raven Reyes begged as she barely contained herself.

“Abby here thinks just that of me” Clarke said snottily, making Abby wish that she could take Clarke to task for talking about her in that tone, “possibly because dad and I trusted her once upon a time and we both paid very high prices when that trust was betrayed.”

“Abby, I am Echo. I used to be the senior spy for the leader of one of the 12 clans of the coalition. Most of my people died when the late Queen declared war on the coalition. Clarke saved those who she could. Clarke invites all people who wish to live in peace into her clan but is not naïve enough to think that just because people say something they mean it. When some men raped one of her people, Clarke removed their testicles, sliced their cocks and allowed the victim to tattoo details of their crime on their faces. When she wants something, she bargains hard for it if that is the way to get it, if she needs to she can fight for it. Clarke is very different to the teenager you betrayed and had sent to solitary confinement and now no one takes advantage of Clarke: if they try, they regret it. You should remember that and be proud of her.”

Clarke smiled her thanks at Echo before asking her next question: “Who thinks that there is any chance of me moving to Areasi to live with the rest of the Arkers?”

This time the question was greeted with absolute silence before someone not known to Abby but she thought she saw him before when she visited said “Clarke will never leave her people here in Mt Orlan, and if for any reason she had to, we will follow her, but I cannot believe that if there was any other alternative that Clarke would want to live with the Arkers again.”

Clarke thanked Lincoln and agreed wholeheartedly with his conclusions as she led her mom away to go to the Training Room where she knew she would find her husband and son.

“Mom, you need to stop seeing me as I was before dad got floated. I am older, a lot wiser, so much tougher, necessary to my people, very happy, and in charge so unless you could live under rules and ethos that I set, there is no chance of me living with you Arkers. You need to get over whatever you’re hoping for so you can move on to a happy reality.”

Abby was appalled. This old, one armed, scarred savage, was teaching her young grandson how to fight! He could barely walk yet he was being taught how to fight, and Clarke thought nothing was wrong with that picture! She would have to talk to Thelonious to see how she could rescue her baby girl from this travesty of a marriage.

Roan wasn’t impressed with his mother-in-law any more than she was impressed with him. She was supercilious and condescending. Roan knew that if it wasn’t for the presence of his son, she would have been outright rude. Abby was exactly like Clarke had described and he was surprised at how surprised he was. Roan had thought that a little of Clarke’s views about her mother had been tainted by the fact that it was Abby who had turned in her father for execution and for Clarke to be placed in solitary, and then add a little youthful rebellion against one’s parent: but he should have thought about how well Clarke read people, how well she understood where they were coming from and realised that Clarke really did know her mother well.

“You are exactly as Clarke described you” Roan said to Abby as he offered his left hand to shake only for it to receive a derisive glare. “Hey young one, come and meet your grandma.”

Jacob turned from where he was wrapped around Clarke’s legs to look at the woman who he had been told was his grandma. “Pictur, mama” Jacob said. “Ganma picture.”

“Yes, sweet heart, this is grandma from the picture. She has come down from the sky to visit us for a little while before she goes to live in Areasi where Uncle Wells lives” Clarke explained.

“Unc ‘Ells, dio?” Jacob asked.

“No, uncle Wells isn’t on the radio at the moment but you can speak to him later and you can tell him all about your duel with nontu.”

“No like duel, mama. Like ‘rawing” Jacob declare, reinforcing Abby’s dislike of her son-in-law.

“Then why did you ask nontu to bring you instead of drawing with Emori and Otan?” Clarke asked perplexed.

Jacob struck a pose, waving an imaginary sword as he declared he was going to beat Otan.

Roan laughed as he swept his son up in his arms. “Not for many a year little one. You have to be as big as mama before you can duel Otan. Come on, let’s go find some building bricks to play with while mama helps Bellamy, Luna and Bree show everyone where they will sleep.” Roan bent to gently kiss Clarke and nodded to Abby while Jacob gave Clarke a sloppy kiss on her cheek.

Clarke showed Abby where she would be sleeping and said the Chancellor would be in the next room until he left for Areasi in two days since he wanted to be on the first convoy headed south. Clarke told Abby to have a wander around, look at any medical records she wanted, as long as she kept everything she learned confidential, of-course, and that they would catch up later.

Luna, while escorting some others to their temporary accommodation heard Abby talking.

“Thelonious, he’s awful! He’s old, his face is terribly scarred, has really long hair kept in lots of thin scruffy braids and he only has one hand! What can she possibly see in him? At least if she was with Wells I would know that she was with someone who was her equal, someone who could understand the burdens of leadership she carries and help her with them; not like this useless savage.”

“Don’t worry, Abby. I’m sure that after spending time with civilised people Clarke will remember where she comes from and her destiny” the man, presumably Thelonious, replied.

Luna went to talk to everyone she could find and get them to agree with her plan of action. Dinner that evening was going to be fun, not for Abby and Thelonious, but for the northerners of Mt Orlan it was. Luna didn’t know all the reasons for some of the reactions, but she did know that some of the former Skaikru were really going to enjoy themselves at the expense of Clarke’s mother and the Skaikru Chancellor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As usual I've let my dislike for Abby's character shine through.
> 
> I was rather at a loss for what the people of Mt Orlan could be called. They wanted to separate themselves from those who will live in Areasi as much as they could, and still acknowledge that they had people from the ground join their clan too so I came up with the rather boring Northerners, or Northernkru - sorry for those wanting something a bit more imaginative. 
> 
> It was a bit obvious that they would get all of Azgeda and Floukru land since their leaders and remains of their people are now resident in Mt Orlan, but I wanted it to be clear to everyone in the coalition, too.


	31. And Things Were Going So Well

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Abby hopefully learns not to be a judgmental bitch and to finally accept that Clarke is no longer her baby girl.
> 
> There's a major problem in getting to earth from the Arc and in transporting those in Europe to Areasi.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long delay in getting this chapter up: RL has hit me with the proverbial 2x4 and I don't have the same amount of writing time as I enjoyed earlier.

The word had spread. Everyone from Mt Orlan knew what they were going to do. Raven and Bellamy had even talked to Roan and Clarke. At first Clarke wasn’t too keen on the idea until Raven repeated what Abby had said to the Chancellor about Roan. That made her blood boil

“I don’t suppose you have time to make a pair of spectacular looking crowns do you?” Clarke growled.

“No, but everyone is on board with the plan, you and the King just need to play your parts. I’ve even spoken to Wells and Luna the Commander and they will make sure they get the point across whenever the situation allows. We thought you should make the proposed titles announcement, too. Wells and Sinclair are on board, and Monty did a brief check with everyone in Polis and they’re happy that you announce the proposals and that an open meeting followed by voting on them will take place once all your people are home. I sent a copy of the rough outline to Monty so that he can make sure everyone has a chance to look at it, he said it’s cool as something to get the discussions started, which is its aim. When you stand to make the announcement, everyone bar Roan will also stand so just make sure you tell us we can all sit down again.

“All the youngsters will have early dinner and then go to the cinema to watch some kids cartoon or something; I think Cole suggested Toy Story. A few people will watch them all, those who think that they might clock your mom and Jaha and don’t want to put you in the position of having to punish them. I thought that I should be one of them but Luna said she would keep an eye on me and reminded me that I didn’t want to miss the fun.”

Clarke thanked her friend. Echo took Jacob to his meal and would be in the control room while he was in the cinema and the adults were eating. She knew her role.

Clarke and Roan knocked on the doors of Abby and Theolonious’s room to accompany them to dinner. As they walked through the corridors Abby noted how very well mannered everyone they saw was: the few people about all bowed their heads as the group walked past. ‘This’ Abby thought, ‘shows that the people of Mt Orlan want to join with us, live under the protection of the Council’. Thelonious just took it all for granted. 

As they entered the canteen everyone, well all the Northerners, stood and bowed their heads. The people from the Arc gawped for a moment before following suit.

“Please sit down everyone” Jaha said with a wave of his hand. The Arkers did but the Northerners continued to stand with their heads bowed.

Roan smirked at the Chancellor and said “Our people follow our orders. They will wait until we are seated then they will sit down unless we tell them otherwise” as they walked to the front table. There Bellamy was holding out Clarke’s chair while Luna was holding Roan’s.

“Dr Griffin, Mr Jaha, you can sit here” Miller said pointing to two chairs opposite Clarke and Roan. Bellamy and Luna helped Roan and Clarke to sit and Clarke then told everyone else to take their seats.

Murphy and another member of the kitchen staff came out carrying plates to Clarke and Roan. Plates were already in front of everyone else. “Usually everyone goes to serve themselves but in your honour, your portions were brought to you since you won’t be aware of how much to give yourself” Murphy said as he nodded to the plates in front of Abby and Thelonious. “It means your food’s a little cooler than you getting it hot from the oven, so to speak, but it’s better than you taking too much because our leaders don’t eat until everyone else has eaten and we can’t risk you leaving them without enough to eat.” Murphy then turned to Roan and Clarke and said “Enjoy your meal, Your Majesties” and left with a gleam in his eye and a small bow.

Seeing the bowls of fruit on the table Clarke told her mom and the Chancellor that today was fruit day for desert. “When you have finished your main course, just choose a piece of fruit and enjoy. Roan and I will choose our pieces last.”

Abby and Thelonious were looking at their food as if it was dangerous. Clarke thought it was hilarious because she knew they had probably never eaten spaghetti before and would have no idea how to eat it without making a mess. Naturally Roan was able to twirl the pasta and meat sauce on his fork very proficiently. Looking around, Abby could see that some were using their spoon to cut up the strings and then to mix everything together before scooping it up with their spoon to eat. She decided to follow that path rather than make a fool of herself eating it the way her daughter and husband did.

“What was that about Majesties?” Abby asked just as Echo stood between Clarke and Roan with her head bowed.

“Echo” Roan encouraged.

“Forgive me for interrupting your meal Your Majesties, but the Commander is on the radio saying she needs some urgent strategic battle advice” Echo said, loud enough to be sure that everyone on their table heard.

“She’s playing chess with Wells again isn’t she?” Clarke laughed.

“I believe so, m’am. I heard her say something about not wanting to sacrifice her queen.”

“I don’t blame her” Roan spoke. “I would never wish to sacrifice my Queen” he too Clarke’s hand to raise it to his lips with a smile.

“I hate to tell you this, Sire” Bellamy interrupted, “but I don’t think anyone here would want you to sacrifice the Queen to save the King”. 

“You’re wrong” Raven said. “The Queen here would be happy to sacrifice herself to save the King.”

“Then I beg you, my love, the Prince and Princess need their mama more than they need their nontu, especially while in there” Roan said as he gently rubbed the swell of the new baby. “The Queen, must be protected at all costs, understand?”

“I understand that while our children physically need me more than you, I come first, but once they are independent, all bets are off. Now, the Commander; why don’t we suggest that the king be renamed the commander, and the queen the flame keeper? She can sacrifice that piece to her heart’s content then” Clarke suggested.

“A very good idea, love. I’ll go and speak with her while you carry on eating” Roan said as he stood and smirked when everyone else, bar the Arkers and Clarke, did the same. “Please sit” he said with a wave of his hand as he walked off with Echo.

“Clarke, what the hell is going on with all this standing and King and Queen stuff?” Abby snarked across the table.

“What do you mean, mom?” Clarke played ignorant. “We’re trying to work out a way for our people to show their respect without going over board, I believe the late Queen Nia, Roan’s mom, required all people to get down onto one knee when she walked in the room. We want to be more progressive, but you know how it is, change sometimes comes slowly and it would be awful if people were to mistake our easy ways as weakness and lack of respect, don’t you think?”

Abby and Thelonious looked at Clarke in shock. “You mean he is a real King and you are a real Queen?” Jaha asked.

“A promotion from being a make believe Princess to a genuine Queen, eh?” Bellamy said.

“But he has scars, and only one hand!” Abby cried.

“And I’m the one who cut off his hand” Clarke said. 

“And I’m the one who made his new hand” Raven said. “And it is awesome!”

“I do believe that King Roan is almost universally regarded as awesome and while his hand and arm may have a little to do with it, a lot is because he survived the attack in the first place, and because he managed to win the heart of Wanheda, the second most powerful person on earth” Luna put in. “Only the Commander is respected more than Wanheda Clarke within the coalition.”

“Thank you Luna” Clarke said. “I know that I sometimes feel a little awkward with the title of ‘Queen’ when all I did to earn it was to marry the love of my life while he does not get an accompanying title for marrying the Wanheda. It is just so unfair.”

“Wanheda Clarke, since the Commander is already spoken for” Costia said with a smile, “the only person on earth with a sufficiently high enough title for you is King Roan. It is very fortuitous that you fell in love with him. Of-course you could have fallen in love with one of the other clan leaders but …”

“… but I’de be more likely to kill them. No, Roan is …” and Clarke trailed off as the door opened and Roan entered the canteen as everyone once again stood and bowed their heads.

Roan sat in his seat and waved everyone else to do the same. “We have got to put a stop to this” Roan muttered, it was getting old already.

Most of the tables had been cleared but people were still sitting with a drink because they knew an announcement would be made. Most people knew what it was about and why it had been brought forward from the original plan. When the front table had also all finished eating Clarke stood. As she had been warned, everyone else did too but she quickly told them to sit down again.

“I thank you all for the respect and loyalty you have shown to Roan and myself this evening, but I have to say, I personally prefer the genuine respect you show us every day rather than the obsequiousness shown this evening. I think we got the message across to our guests so we can stop with the over the top standing, bowing and Majestying, keeping it for any formal occasions that might come up in the future when we’re wearing crowns. The next time we are referred to as savages we can just let them find their own way home, or remind them that I am the Killer Queen, with gun powder and gelatine, dynamite with a laser beam, especially when Raven is there to help me, and that there is a reason I am respected as Wanheda” and she paused for the sniggers to settle.

“As you know, when all our people are home, we will be reviewing our constitution again. We hope that the next few years will be a period of growth and that means all the change and uncertainty that comes with it. We want to keep the responsibilities at the top separate: I, with the help of Roan, will continue to look to the long term prosperity of our people, including our relationships with the other peoples. Bellamy will continue to oversee the day to day issues that arise. But as we grow, Bellamy’s role becomes bigger so we propose that Luna formally takes on the role of Second Minister, to Bellamy’s Prime Minister. We also propose that other Ministers be chosen, by you. We suggest that for each category of Minister, for example Food, if more than one nomination for Minister for Food comes forward you vote to choose which one you want. Roan, Bellamy, Luna and myself will not be re-elected. Our jobs will remain ours for as long as we are working for the benefit of the community as a whole and for as long as we are willing to carry out the work. This means that there will continue to be stability as we will not need to make changes for the sake of short term popularity in order to win an election.

“Once all our people are home we will hold an open meeting to discuss this proposal and to clarify the titles we shall have: I think that the one holding Roan and my roles be called Presidents, but it is only a suggestion. You have time to talk amongst yourselves, think of questions you wish to ask, offer suggestions for how it might be improved and the senior titles, and then we will vote as to whether or not we wish to go ahead with those changes. Thank you for staying to listen. Enjoy the rest of your evening.”

Abby was fuming. “Was anything about this evening the truth or was it all designed to humiliate us?” she asked.

“It is true that we usually eat last, sometimes it is scrappy left overs, sometimes it is something special that the kitchen staff have prepared at short notice, sometimes it is exactly the same as everyone else” Clarke said.

“It is true that both Clarke and Roan are universally regarded as awesome” Luna said.

“It is also true that the previous Queen expected her subjects to prostrate themselves before her, obey her immediately and without question” Roan added.

“And if anyone had shown Nia the same disrespect you showed Roan when you met him you would be dead by now” Clarke said. “That woman was awful, but I made damned sure that she could not fault my manners.”

“And knowing my mother, that probably made her dislike you even more” Roan said with a smile. “Come on, my Queen, let’s go and collect our Little Prince and put him to bed. Do you think he stayed awake long enough to watch more than the first ten minutes? And the Commander thought it a very good idea to rename the chess pieces and was very happy to sacrifice the flame keeper to protect the commander. Wells agreed to it, too.”

“What is ‘Wanheda’?” Jaha asked.

“It is a title given to me as a mark of respect for those I have sent to their deaths, and those I have saved from death; it means ‘Commander of Death’” Clarke explained calmly.

“What do you mean those you sent to their deaths?” Abby screeched. “How many people could you have possibly sent to their deaths?”

Clarke looked to her mother and with a straight face said “hundreds; and before you say it was Roan’s influence, let me tell you most of them were carried out before I met him. How do you think I got control of this mountain facility; by asking nicely?”

Abby was turning a scary looking shade of red: Jaha was looking impressed. Clarke had a degree of ruthlessness that he could only wish was matched in his son.

The first convoy, luckily including the Chancellor, left for Areasi. No one was sad to see the Arkers leave, but their own people would be missed.

Abby seemed to have decided to adopt a more conciliatory manner and deigned to speak to everyone with respect since she didn’t know who held what titles. Almost everyone could hear the condescension for what it was and were barely able to keep their own snark under control.

Abby asked what happened to Philip Rhodes. “I assume he died from his injuries like I always thought he would” she said without a hint of sadness.

“No, he committed suicide after Ben’s death due to a brain haemorrhage following a seizure” Clarke was cross. “His goodbye message thanked us all for making Ben’s life happy and fulfilled, making sure Ben knew how valuable he was to us all, and for all our efforts in keeping him alive to be there for Ben. He got five wonderful years with Ben, but with Ben’s death, he couldn’t live with the emotional pain as well as the physical. They are both very much missed. Lincoln said that the horses still miss Ben and look for him” Clarke was sad. “At least they both got to experience the best that the earth has to offer.”

“You said that you were given your title in part because of the lives you saved: was Philip Rhodes part of that?” Abby asked. “I only ask because you were a Medic who hadn’t practised any sort of medical procedures, even sutures given that you were in solitary for over a year, so how could you go on to do such complicated surgeries? I would have loved the chance to carry out such experiments.”

“I don’t know what to say, mom” Clarke prevaricated. “I guess I just have a knack for it, and I never thought of them as experiments since most of the complicated surgeries were either do them and the patients might live; or don’t do them and the patients will die. Other than Roan, who was in no position to give consent or otherwise, I made sure they all knew the risks, including the potential outcome of them not waking up again. They were, or are, people: not animals to experiment upon.” She wondered how her mother would feel about the experiments that Dr Tsing was carrying out before she was killed. 

“What happened to Roan?”

“As you heard, his mother was not liked, but she was very well guarded. Roan was attacked by people who couldn’t get to Nia. He was cut with a poisoned blade with no known antidote. Death is, apparently inevitable.”

“Unless Wanheda Clarke is around” Abby interrupted, trying to lighten the mood.

“Yeah. To most of the coalition, a disfigured person is an outcast so it would never occur to them to cut off the poisoned limb to stop it spreading. Roan wasn’t happy when he realised what I had done. Strangely it was Philip Rhodes who brought Roan back to life. Once Roan was physically safe, the hardest part was to give him tasks that challenged him, but would not be impossible. The last thing for him to learn was doing his own braids” Clarke smiled. “He can do mine perfectly now, but his own still look a little ragged.”

Abby was chagrined to realise that her words to Thelonious had been heard and she had been judgemental without knowing the circumstances and had herself thus been judged, and found wanting.

“If we had stayed on the Arc, would you and Wells have married, do you think?” Abby asked something that she was not sure she wanted to know.

“Probably” Clarke replied with a shrug. “Neither of us had any other real friends and the chances of being able to spend enough time with anyone else to allow love to develop were slim to none, so I expect we would have made do for lack of any other options. I guess we could have been content since we wouldn’t have known any better: but that option went out of the airlock when dad did” she added with a bite that Abby chose to ignore.

“Does Roan make you happy?”

Clarke looked at her mother, trying to make sure that Abby was in no doubt as to her sincerity: “He makes me happy, sad, blessed, confident, angry, peaceful, jealous, lucky; in fact Roan makes me feel everything. With Roan, I’m alive: with Wells, I would have been getting by. There is no comparison. I know I give Roan everything, too. I liked and admired Roan before I loved him; I loved him before I was in love with him.”

“But if not for you, he would have nothing. I just wish that you had waited to get married and have children; you’re only 23, Clarke and he has to be at least 30. When you first got together he would have been at least 25 to your 18, you were just a child and I think he took advantage of you” Abby persisted.

“Mom, I’m only going to say this once more and if you try to undermine me and my decisions again then we will not maintain contact” Clarke paused to try to gather her thoughts. “I ceased being a child when dad was floated; when I was sent to solitary confinement; when I was dragged out of my cell and thrown to the ground; when I helped take charge of over 100 people; when I took this mountain, killing over 300 people while doing so; when I operated on various injuries while I was barely conscious due to a gunshot wound to my abdomen; when I negotiated a Peace Treaty with the Commander; when I made life or death decisions in the Med Bay; when I guided my friend in wiping out the Azgedan army; when I organised everything so that as many people as possible could live after the death wave; when I risked my own life and welfare to make sure people could stay in touch in the aftermath of the wave; when I castrated three rapists, one of whom was Roan’s brother who I later put down; when I chose Roan to be the one with whom I wished to spend the rest of my life; when I gave birth; need I go on? You need to give up this notion you have of me being the same naïve 16 year old who was locked up: it was over seven years ago and I have grown up.”

Abby was shocked: it really was longer than seven years since she had her daughter and she hadn’t realised how much Clarke had grown away from her. “I’m never going to get my baby girl back again, am I?”

“No” Clarke was clear; “and if you carry on the way you’re going, you’re never going to have a relationship with your grown up daughter, your son in law or your grandchildren. Plus, you and Jaha seem to be doing your best to antagonise the very people to whom you owe so much. We could have just left you to die: don’t make us regret not doing so.”

Aiden spoke to Clarke to say that he fully understood why she had decided to live apart from the other Skaikru, especially after meeting the Chancellor.

“He talks to me very slowly and very loudly: it is irritating” Aiden grumbled. “Luckily we are soon to leave with the last of the animals and will not have to put up with them for much longer. I feel sorry for Wells having him for a nontu.” 

It was agreed that only chickens and the fish would remain in Areasi since none of the Arkers had any experience in looking after the animals and none had taken the initiative to learn. 

Don Schmidt also agreed with Aiden and said that the Chancellor’s arrival just reinforced their earlier decision to move to Mt Orlan. “Raven and Sinclair will be returning with the next convoy with the important hardware including the drones” reminding Clarke that Areasi didn’t want to leave control over any of their missiles with the Arkers. “Areasi will only be able to maintain the current situation unless the Arkers develop anything themselves. Jackson will return with the first convoy from the next arrivals so that he can have a little overlap with Dr Griffin. Freda and Michael will leave with Jackson. They will be least likely to be missed since they are food production and the Arkers have taken over that area already.”

As well as bringing the weapons and missile controls, Don said that they would bring lots of chemicals other raw ingredients that they use to make solar panels and batteries as well as their current supply of spares. Clarke almost grinned in amusement. It was likely that the Arkers would not realise that they had been so underhandedly screwed. All the animal sperm that they had saved would be sent to Mt Orlan with the next return convoy once a secure travel storage was made.

There was a slight delay in taking the last of the current cohort or Arkers to Areasi because all of the Northerners in Polis were ready to return home. Collecting them first meant a delay in the Arkers’ journey of two days: taking the Arkers first meant a delay in the Orlians return of about ten days. To Clarke it was a no brainer as to which should take precedent. With the use of the horses as well as the vehicles, they could be collected in the one trip (even though the horse riders would be very stiff and sore the next day).

It was during this time of delay that Kane radioed Areasi from London to say that there was a problem with the front wheel of the shuttle. Clarke, as always, was very willing to help but she was appalled at being asked by Jaha “so how are you going to get the rest of my people home?”

“I say just tell them it’s their problem, not ours” Bellamy grumbled when he was informed.

“Whilst I sympathise with that suggestion” Lincoln smiled, “it is not going along with our ethos if we don’t at least try to find a solution to help them”.

Octavia snorted and reluctantly agreed with her love, as did Roan.

“Okay, we check that everyone can get by in the short term, we get all our people back here and we brainstorm” Clarke suggested. It was agreed. In the meantime, Clarke made a point of telling Jaha that she would need Don to bring his long range drones and someone to operate them. It was the perfect excuse and Jaha didn’t need to know that they would not be returning.

Berlin and London were not very happy at being told they were on hold since they had been preparing to leave and would have to undo all their previous work, but they agreed that they would survive until a solution was found. Those still on the Arc were more concerned about being able to get down to earth. Clarke didn’t bother trying to reassure them that a way would be found since she didn’t believe it was her place even though she doubted that Jaha would prove to be very comforting.

Naturally it was Raven, working with Wick and Sinclair who worked out what needed to be done and they established that there was someone in Berlin who would be able to do it if they only had the necessary tool and materials, which they did not.

“It’s for you to work out how to get it there” Sinclair told the other leaders.

Operation of the drones would have to take place a lot further north and as close to the edge of the Atlantic as possible because of the limitations in their range. It was Emori who suggested trying to use Becca’s Island as a base.

“ALIE did say she was convinced that the lab would survive and I promised to visit so it would be the perfect excuse” Emori said.

The discussion was short since no one could think of a better idea. It was agreed that Raven, Monty, Don, Sinclair and Emori had to go and other suggestions were sought for security, field medic and food prep. Those specific job suggestions were picked deliberately to allow for Luna, Harper and Murphy to also be selected without any appearance of favouritism (not that Harper knew she was chosen to go to give her and Monty the opportunity to bond).

Because Luna was used to Clarke’s precautions, she listened carefully and made sure she knew how to pass on a message if there was a problem. Raven made sure that Jasper knew how to blow things up without overkill if necessary and she also asked that Octavia and Lincoln go to keep a distant watching brief with walkie-talkies so that ALIE could not interfere with those communications.

Raven, unlike Luna, knew exactly what ALIE was capable of and knew they might not be able to leave the island if ALIE refused to let them: at least they might not be able to leave without getting down and dirty both physically and mentally. Raven was almost looking forward to taking on ALIE’s code and asked for lots of other things that no one understood the reason for, except for Emori and Clarke: not even Octavia knew the full story of what happened to Murphy at ALIE’s hands but the oxygen canisters and the EMPs were a good precaution.

Since Emori was known to have been at the island before the death wave she was the one to keep radio contact as they approached.

“The sensory surveillance columns have gone” Emori said. “They were probably destroyed in the wave. It means no guard drones but we don’t know what it means for getting in the lab.”

Clarke acknowledged Emori without adding anything: she knew that Emori remembered Clarke saying that the entrance to the lab collapsed in the death wave but that the lab was intact. Clarke had even noted that the computers were still working as she had lain dying.

Emori recorded when they reached the collapsed entrance and noted that none of the pieces of rubble appeared to be too big for them to move fairly easily. The group worked to clear the entrance, mostly without complaint, but naturally Murphy had to comment on the potential damage this labouring was doing to his delicate chef’s hands. Monty wondered how everyone in Mt Orlan had put up with him over the past nearly six years!

“We just learned to tune him out” Harper said. “Clarke told us to just think of his voice as awful music that is in the background to whatever else is going on. The difficulty comes when he says something that we need to hear.”

“And how often does that happen?” Monty smirked.

“Not very often at all” Luna replied. “If he is talking about menus; and food in general, it’s probably worth taking notice. Otan listens to him with rapt attention so that’s good enough. Don’t know if Otan will find Roan as fascinating.”

Clarke smirked at hearing Luna’s repost over the radio: “Otan definitely does not find Roan to be as interesting as his dad” she spoke. “When Roan talks and tells the bed time story Otan just looks as him with exasperated patience. He must have learned that look from Emori.”

Clarke heared the sniggers and relaxed.

It was Sinclair who got the first look inside the lab. He was in awe. “Everything appears to be working: there’s a clock; a radiation measure and weather report; and a note of when the computer was last activated.”

“ALIE, it’s Emori, are you able to respond?” Emori called.

“A screen is activating and a woman’s face has appeared” Sinclair said.

“Hello, Emori, I am glad that you were able to come back to see me. Who else is with you?” Clarke could hear ALIE’s computer generated voice.

“I take it you cannot project yourself here” Emori said and then told everyone to introduce themselves so that ALIE could recognise their voices. 

“It is so nice for you all to come and see me” ALIE said. “But why have you come?”

“Sinclair and Don need to do something a bit further up north so I suggested that we make our base here and they can drive up and camp over night while they do what they have to do and the rest of us can hang around and talk to you. Raven and Monty are the computer geeks so I thought you would enjoy their company. Is that alright?” Emori asked.

“That is very good, thank you Emori. I cannot communicate beyond this lab so I think the tower must have been destroyed in the wave” ALIE said.

“Sorry that we don’t have the ability to rebuild it” Raven said. “Is there any way we can download you onto a portable device then we can take you back with us to Mt Orlan? We could keep you in the Control Room so you could talk with whoever was working at the time.”

Clarke was listening in to everything that was said while keeping her side mute. The plan was working. There was no way they wanted to allow ALIE free reign to infiltrate their computer system, but they did want to be able to make use of her knowledge if it was possible. But, if they needed to, they could always just blow the lab so that no one could set ALIE free again.

Raven and Monty were distracting ALIE while the others were removing things that they wanted to take back to Mt Orlan. They had all been warned that they needed to make sure that all doors were blocked open so that ALIE could not lock them in to keep them there. Murphy, Harper and Monty thought that Clarke’s instructions were a little over the top, but Raven, Luna and Sinclair were particularly vociferous in making sure everyone adhered to them.

Don and Sinclair packed one of the rovers with the drones and overnight gear and drove further north to get a good look at the Atlantic to see if it was feasible to plan on crossing it in one of the vehicles.

ALIE asked what they were doing and Raven took great pleasure in telling her what was going on and emphasising all the people that they had been able to save. “Our main focus now is to get everyone to their home and to begin helping the earth to heal” Raven said.

“Without intervention, we reckon it will take about 100 years, but luckily we planned and kept seeds, saplings and some animals so that we can at least make sure that some pockets heal quicker” Monty pointed out. “I don’t suppose Becca kept a store of anything we could use here, did she?”

Clarke wished Monty had not been quite so blunt, but it may have been useful to indicate that they were not hiding anything. Of-course they were hiding things, but it was best that ALIE thought otherwise.

It turned out that Becca had kept quite a store in the lab of things that would be useful in a post apocalyptical world: fertilised grow bags, seeds of fruits and vegetable including some that they had not kept; clothes; blankets; canned and dried foods; water purification tablets; lots of various tools and very importantly, some hydrazine. If necessary, Clarke wondered if there would be enough to send the rocket over the Atlantic and to land it safely. It would certainly be quicker than driving across the ocean bed.

Raven and Monty downloaded all of the information on the computers so that they could study it at their leisure back in Mt Orlan, it was Raven who asked about the frequent references to Eligius Corporation.

“The Eligius Corporation was an inter-galactical mining company. It was they that financed Becca’s work on the Polaris station. She developed the anti-radiation serum for them so that they would not suffer from the increased radiation in space. The last missions lost contact just before the bombs were launched” ALIE explained without saying that she was the one that launched the bombs. “Their fate is not known; but they were equipped for long term missions and could be waiting until it is known that the earth is survivable before attempting to return.”

That latter point was something that Clarke didn’t know anything about and she thought that she ought to talk to Jaha to try to find out what the Arc knows, if anything.

All seemed to be going well: ALIE had allowed for her programme to be copied but not wiped from the lab’s mainframe; various supplies that were likely to prove useful were brought to the upper level and Don and Sinclair said they obtained great footage of the Atlantic. A copy of the footage was downloaded onto the mainframe so that ALIE could assist with the analysis.

“Where’s all the trenches?” Monty asked.

“Probably filled in with the sand” Sinclair said. “It looks fairly smooth, though. Do you think the rovers could traverse the sand?”

“The sand will be soft but there will be large rocks close to the surface which could prove hazardous” ALIE advised. “A mechanic will need to form part of the team because it is likely that there will be damage.”

“Will motor bikes be better, do you think?” Raven asked.

“No” ALIE replied. “If you look closely at this part of the footage you will see that there are creatures in the sand and it would be safer to camp inside the rover. I will attempt to get a better picture of the creatures.”

There was silence as the computer attempted to clear up the image of the creatures apparently crawling through the sand.

“They’re crabs!” Luna said. “We used to sometimes get them close to the coast. They’re mostly found further north than my former people would usually travel. They’re very tasty, though.”

“Perhaps whoever goes can see if there’s a way to bring enough back to breed” Emori suggested. “I know, it’s not the purpose of the mission, we need to get people home if possible but I don’t see why we can’t try to take advantage of anything that we might come across while doing so.”

“That’s my girl” Murphy applauded. “Always looking for a way to get more. I do love that attitude.”

Everyone laughed, but they also agreed with the concept.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The problem with the shuttle needs some welding and without it being fixed it is stuck so unless the Northerners do as Bellamy wanted they need to find a way to get welding stuff to London. I'm sure that Raven would prefer the option of flying the rocket, but that has to be a last resort so it isn't likely that Raven will get the chance to take her family flying!


	32. London Calling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A trip is made to try to help the people in London. Things (note the plural) get a bit complicated!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no mechanical or engineering knowledge so some of the things said here might be complete bull - just go with it and give a mental snort of haughty derision!

Octavia and Lincoln were bored. They knew they were there ‘just in case’ and that they should hope that there was nothing for them to do, but they didn’t like being bored. It was good to exercise the horses, but they had to be careful because they only had so much food with them and they didn’t want to make them suffer; and it was good to have lots of time and privacy to indulge themselves, but they didn’t want to spend all day, every day making love; and it was nice to be able to train without worrying who was learning too much from them, but they knew each other so well now that it was more about keeping in shape.

So they were bored and wanted to go home.

Luckily, Don and Sinclair decided that they had everything they could reasonably get from their foray and they also thought it was time to go home to plan the next stage.

No one was happy with how far from the lab the rovers were kept since it made reloading more difficult, but orders were orders and they got right on with the job. Murphy, of-course, had to complain while carrying the precious cargo to the rover but he did nothing to try to get the transport close to the lab.

The first items Sinclair placed in the rover were the two separate tablets with all the information downloaded. Neither were physically capable of wireless connection: a precaution that Clarke, Raven and Emori insisted was needed. He understood when he heard that it was ALIE who actually launched the missiles that almost ended the world.

Raven was telling ALIE that they were going to return to Mt Orlan, but they would visit again when they had to come north again. “Are you okay with us using your lab as a base when we need to make the trips?” Raven asked.

“I do not want you to come and go. I want some to stay here permanently” ALIE replied.

“That one is not going to happen. It’s either we leave and don’t return, or we leave and we do” Raven stated. “It’s your choice.”

Suddenly an alarm went off and all the internal doors went to close. 

Luna could see what was happening and was glad that they had kept something to obstruct the doors. “Wanheda Clarke thought that you might try to keep us here so she ordered us to block the doors” she said. “You cannot keep us from leaving.”

“Monty is shut in” ALIE said as she showed Monty uselessly banging on a door that he had not wedged open. “He will stay. You will not all leave him so others will now stay.”

“ALIE, we will all leave. Please let Monty out so that we don’t have to destroy your lab to release him” Emori begged as she saw Harper trying to destroy the door mechanism that was keeping Monty shut in.

“Monty will not leave” ALIE reiterated and a light gas was released into the room in which Monty was trapped.

Luckily, although Monty had not taken the precaution of wedging the door open, he had taken the precaution of carrying an oxygen canister and mask. He tried to let Harper and the others know that he was fine as he breathed through his mask.

“Final warning, ALIE” Raven said. “Release Monty or we destroy your lab.”

“You cannot destroy it, you have no suitable tools for doing so” ALIE stated. Even though she was an AI and had no real emotions, Raven could have sworn that she looked smug.

‘Not for long’ Raven thought as she checked that everything that was at risk that they wanted was a safe distance away and she deployed the EMP. Immediately the computers died and all the doors were opened. ‘Hasta la vista, ALIE.’

“Monty! Monty! Are you alright?” Harper demanded. “Why the hell didn’t you wedge the door opened like you were told to?”

“I’m okay” Monty said as he walked out carrying the box of seeds that he wanted. “I guess I forgot. I didn’t really think it would be necessary, and I had my oxygen, so no problem.”

“Did I just hear you say that it was no problem, Monty? Sinclair asked sternly as Monty gulped. “If Raven didn’t have an EMP it is possible that we wouldn’t have been able to open the door before your oxygen ran out. You were given those instructions for a reason and it’s going to be hard giving you responsibilities if you’re going to forget your instructions because you don’t think they’re really necessary. As it is, Raven had to destroy some valuable assets to ensure your safety.”

Luna looked around at everyone and saw how upset they were, both at the potential loss and the fact that the precautions were needed. “We should get what we can into the rovers and leave. We can always collect more when we head this way again if any of it is reparable. We should block off the entrance to preserve it.”

It was a subdued group that left for Mt Orlan.

“So what do people think?” Clarke asked after they had all studied the highlights of the drones’ recordings.

“I’m not sure I want us to risk the rovers with all the potential for things to go wrong” Bellamy said.

“I don’t think we should either” Don said. “I don’t want to leave the people stranded but it’s not as if their lives are in danger by staying there.”

Clarke waited a little while for others to weigh in before she asked “How about we send one rover and some horses to pull a trailer? They could also be used to pull the rover if it should break down. Volunteers only to go.”

“What about the crabs potentially spooking the horses?” Lincoln asked.

“They were fairly close to the British shore. The horses could stop before there, or skirt a little north of them and wait on Ireland for the rover to carry out the rest of the journey. On the way back the trailer could be used to carry a crate for crabs, if whoever goes thinks it’s worth trying to catch some” Clarke pointed out.

“I will go and ride one of the horses in a team of four” Roan offered. “It is something I have done before and I know how much food they will need to maintain enough strength to carry out the journey. I do, however, think we should demand a payment that the Arkers agree that any Arkers, Areasians and Europeans who wish to leave them and live with us should be allowed to do so without hindrance or complaints.”

“I’ll go, too in the rover” Monty said. “I need to prove that I can follow orders and I have no doubt that Roan can pull me back into line if I decide not to. I can also carry out minor repairs if necessary so will be useful for that, too.”

“I’ll go as a field medic” Harper offered. “If those critters manage to snap at someone I can sterilise and suture a wound.”

“Monty, would you be able to work with Raven to cobble together a long range radio so that you’ll be able to stay in contact with us?” Clarke asked.

“That bit is the easy bit” Raven said. 

“Okay then, if there’s no other comments, we’ll agree to the plan as outlined and we also go with Roan’s suggested ultimatum to Jaha” Clarke said and paused for others to say something. When no one did she said “I must emphasise that if you find that the crossing is too much, you turn back. I am content that you have an uncomfortable journey, but you do not risk your or the horses lives to get there. I hope that there is no ambiguity to that. I understand that the return journey might be a little different, but getting there is to be as far as possible, risk free.”

Jaha was not happy when Clarke radioed with the ultimatum. “I do not understand why you think you have a right to claim our people” he exclaimed.

“I don’t want the right to claim them; I am demanding the right to accept them. If you cannot agree then my people will not be risking themselves to try to help yours. Get them here yourself, if you think you can then do so without having to surrender anything to me. Let me know when you decide.” Clarke cut the connection.

It didn’t take long for the Chancellor to call back to speak with Clarke. He was pissed and became even more so when Clarke insisted on them speaking with the rest of the Council, plus Wells and all the original Areasians in the room. When she was sure that her request had been fulfilled Clarke outlined the basis of their agreement.

“I’m going to Mt Orlan.”

“Yeah, me too.”

“And me”

And so forth until all the Areasians said that they would be moving to Mt Orlan.

“So it will be just us Arkers living here, then” Jaha sounded satisfied, and happy, at last.

“Don’t forget that the offer extends to all the Arkers, too” Clarke reminded them.

“I don’t think my people will want to leave the security that comes with living under the experience of the Council and live with you. Many had that chance and returned to us when the opportunity arose” Jaha was smug.

“And I am also sure that most will not wish to live with us. We just want them to have the option and if only one or two choose to do so then we’ll be very happy to receive them” Clarke shrugged knowing that Jaha wouldn’t be so smug if he knew that Wells was also planning on joining the Northerners.

Clarke was very tearful when she realised that she had one more night with Roan before he had to set off. A large convoy was going as far north as they could so that they could carry all the food for as long as possible to save the horses. If she wasn’t pregnant Clarke would be part of the convoy. It would be a long journey. Jake was devastated when he learned that he would not be able to see his beloved nontu for a very long time. He was only reassured when he was told that they would speak every day over the radio for a little while.

The people in Berlin had packed up and hiked to London. It took them almost as long as it took the rover to get there from Mt Orlan.

Monty and Roan radioed every eight hours once they began the crossing. It was a most unpleasant journey. The horses got bogged down in the soft sand and their ankles were rubbed raw until Harper fashioned some socks for them using some of their blankets. It meant that they all had to huddle together for warmth at night. The horses were needed to pull the rover a couple of times when it got stuck and they felt at times that they were making no progress. It was easier when it was raining, or just after it had rained, when the sand was firm and wet.

Monty used a drone to show where they were at the end of every day and to point out how far they had travelled.

“I only hope I’m back in time for the birth” Roan muttered as it dawned on him that it was possible that he wouldn’t be.

“Is it culturally important to you to be there?” Harper asked. “You know, as either a Royal or as an Azgedan?”

“No, not at all. It’s just Clarke’s stated view that if I’m not there at the birth, I have no right to be there at the next conception” Roan replied to snorts of laughter from Harper and Monty. “She then went on to tell me exactly how she would arrange my lack of presence at the conception because she didn’t need me to be there, just my sperm” he derided himself.

“And if anyone could arrange that, it would be Clarke” Harper agreed. “We’ll just have to make sure we take all reasonable steps to return you to your Queen in time.”

They finally approached the area that the drones had picked up the crabs: but it looked like the vibrations from the rover made them dig into the sand. Monty guided the drone to show how far they had to go and they all agreed that provided there were no breakdowns they should be able to go straight over the crabs’ territory without needing to stop for a break.

This meant that they moved onto British soil somewhere in south Wales.

They found the substantial remains of an old castle that offered shelter. “I guess this place has been here for hundreds of years, through all sorts of war so a little fire wasn’t going to completely end it” Monty said.

“I should wait here with the horses; rest them; while you two drive on to London” Roan suggested. “I shall keep the radio and you and I can keep in contact using the walkie-talkies. You can use the radio once you reach the others.”

“That sounds reasonable” Monty agreed. “If we spend the night here we should be able to reach the others tomorrow afternoon. We can maintain contact every couple of hours just so we know we’re all okay.”

Harper removed the socks from the horses, noting that they will need more for the return journey, and checked that abrasions had healed with no infections. Both she and Roan were happy with the condition of the horses.

That evening’s radio call to Clarke garnered much amusement at the irony of a King sleeping in a castle: something that hadn’t happened for over 100 years.

“How do you know that the Kings never slept in a castle in Azgeda?” Roan asked.

“Please, there are no honest to goodness castles in this continent” Clarke retorted. “What the Azgedan royalty lived in may have been called a castle, I don’t know, but I do know that it wasn’t one.”

“Alright, it was called the Palace and it certainly wasn’t a castle” Roan muttered.

It was almost pleasant to sleep knowing that they were on solid ground as opposed to the ocean floor. They didn’t bother setting a watch knowing that there was nothing to disturb them, but in the unlikely event that they were wrong, the horses would alert them.

Monty and Harper made good time in getting to London. There weren’t many people by the shuttle, less than a dozen, but they were all pleased to see the rover.

“I thought you were coming with horses” Kane said.

“Roan is staying with them near to where we came on to land to give them a rest before they have to start the hazardous journey back. It’s very hard work for them so they deserve it” Harper said, not liking the almost accusatory tone that Kane used.

“Then why bring them?” another man asked.

“They were needed to pull the rover when it got stuck in the soft sand” Harper replied.

“Is someone going to help unload that welding equipment?” Monty asked as everyone seemed to be happy to just stand around. “We’ll stay until we know whether it works or not: I hope that’s okay.”

“Yes, of-course it’s okay” a woman said.

“I’m Harper, Field Medic, and this is Monty, Computer Engineer” Harper tried to use her manners.

“Hey, yeah, sorry” the woman said. “I’m Hermione and I’m one of five who have said they want to live with you guys; the other four are back at the bunker. You know Marcus and Calvin” she indicated the two who were Arkers. “The others are Berndt and Doris from Berlin; Jerri, Thomas, Abe, Maxi, Joe and Brooke” as various people raised their hands briefly to acknowledge their names. “I guess you’ll never remember them all so don’t’ worry about it.”

Monty, Kane, Calvin and Berndt were all looking closely at the front wheel support muttering darkly amongst themselves. Harper could tell from Monty’s expression that it wasn’t good news.

“I think it has broken clean through and it is resting on itself. Without lifting gear, we can’t do a proper weld” Monty said.

The others all nodded sagely.

“What does that mean for getting everyone to Areasi?” Hermione asked.

“We can do a patch up repair, joining a small area around the outside of the support” Berndt explained. “It may be strong enough to get the shuttle up in the air, but it will snap when it lands. Unless there are the facilities to carry out a proper repair, it will be a one shot deal. The alternatives are to take us and have a very bumpy landing and hope for another solution for those in space; take us to space and hope that the station can carry out a proper repair and if they can’t hope that it can support us all; or to leave us here and take it up to the station and hope they can fix it.”

“We’ll need to talk to Clarke” Harper said.

“Why, none of those options have any bearing on you” Kane said.

Monty snorted while Harper looked at Kane in sympathy. “Who do you think will be the one to have to work out what to do to sort out the results of your decision? It sure as hell won’t be Jaha.”

“Don’t speak of the Chancellor with such disrespect” Kane was angry.

“Why not, he’s not my Chancellor?” Harper said. “When your problem came to light all he had to offer was ‘What are you doing to bring my people home?’ knowing that we would be the ones to sort it out. So, you talk to Clarke and at least give her the opportunity to offer her opinion unless you’re content for us to let you make your temporary repair and take our equipment back and be on our merry way home and leave the rest to you. And by the way, we’ll need some blankets from you to make socks for the horses since the sand rubs their ankles raw and the ones they have are about worn out.”

“It wouldn’t hurt to talk to Clarke” Berndt said. “She does appear to be the one everyone looks to make the hard choices.”

Harper and Monty got on the walkie-talkie to Roan and, in Trig, told him what was going on and why there was the potential for a real problem. 

“I shall call her and warn her so that she can prepare with the questions she will need answering before she offer advice. She will want to know how many people from here will be living in Mt Orlan, too” Roan said.

Harper told Roan that it was five: she knew that one was a woman but she didn’t know anything else about the others. “All this does mean that we might be here overnight, or maybe two nights, even. Do we have enough feed for the horses?”

“Yes, I worked out a margin for error and we’ll still be within those margins. Have they agreed to give us some blankets?”

“I informed that they had to give them and no one contradicted me” Harper was a little sheepish.

Roan laughed and told Harper that she clearly was spending too much time with Clarke and was picking up her bad habits.

“Good habits, you mean” Harper corrected and ended the conversation with Roan and turned to Hermione. “I have informed Roan that we may need to spend a night or two here and he has confirmed that there is enough feed for the horses to have the small delay. He also reminded me about the blankets to make socks for them. If I could be given some blankets today I can make a start.”

After a short discussion it was agreed that they would return to the bunker and talk to the Clarke and Jaha about the potential problem and agree a way forward. The next day, those who would work on the shuttle would do so with the aim of taking off the day after.

The accommodations in the bunker were a little cramped since everyone from Berlin was also being housed. Given that the previous weeks had been spent sleeping in the rover both Monty and Harper said that they would be happy to camp on a floor: but they would, however, really appreciated having a shower and washing their clothes since they had not been able to wash since they set off “other than what we could manage in the rain fall” Harper said. The appalled looks they received said it all.

The five that were wishing to join the northerners were all from London, although Berndt did say after the radio conversation that he was thinking of changing his mind.

The conversation was difficult with Clarke only being able to speak via a relay and Jaha consistently tried to talk over her. Eventually Clarke just told him to shut up and let her speak.

“Is it possible that the front wheel will break off on take-off?” Clarke asked: and on being told that it was a real possibility she asked if the Arc had the capability to replace it. 

Harper knew that Clarke had already asked Raven and possibly Sinclair that very question and knew that the answer was in the negative. Clarke also asked if the Arc could sustain an extra 300 for however long it would take to make the repairs assuming the weld held until they were able to dock.

“No” Jaha said. “The shuttle would only be able to go to the Arc if it carried no passengers.”

“So let me get this straight” Clarke set out the issues; “if the shuttle were to go to the Arc for repairs everyone in London and Berlin would have to stay there. If the shuttle was not reparable, they would have no way of getting to the Areasi later. If the shuttle takes everyone to Areasi it would be a one off trip and another way of getting everyone down from the Arc would have to be found, which would have to happen if it went to the Arc and was not reparable. Is there anything else?”

“That’s it in a nutshell, Clarke” Kane agreed. “What do you think?”

“I think you should bring everyone to Areasi and we plan to bring the people on the Arc down by another method. Could they last until winter?” Clarke asked.

“Yes, they could” Jaha replied. “What do you have in mind?”

“Use the remaining dropships to bring down who you can, which means that if necessary you could accept everyone from Europe since the dropships will remove more than will arrive, but you will need to leave a good zero G mechanic up there. Once the dropships have left the mechanic will need to work out which is the most structurally sound station and make it even stronger. Then make it secure for the rest of the people to be safely restrained in it and drop it when we have deep snow. You’ll need to make sure you have sufficient rations and blankets and everything for a few weeks, and they will be awful weeks, because we won’t be able to get to you until the snows melt but you should be able to survive provided you prepare fully for it.”

“That has to be the most preposterous idea that I have ever heard” Jaha said, so quietly that the loudest part was his anger. 

“Well, that is my advice. If you’re not going to follow it, I’m going to suggest that those who wish to make their home in Mt Orlan each prepare a large back pack with all their personal possessions, a tent, blankets, loads of rations, some canteens of water, wear sturdy clothes, especially boots, and be prepared a real nasty journey. In any case, you’ll get here quicker than going via Areasi since the vehicles will be used to take food etc to meet up with you when you get to Nova Scotia so that the second half of the return journey will be a bit easier. They won’t be able to get down to Areasi for at least three months.”

“Are you saying that those who wish to live with you have the choice of a really awful journey or of staying in Areasi for at least three months, assuming that the Arkadians agree with your plan?” Berndt asked.

“Yes” Clarke made it simple. “Let me know your decision tomorrow. I’m going to bed, the little princess is practising her combat moves on my ribs and kidneys and I tire easily these days. Good night and Monty, Harper, good work on getting there with all of you in one piece. Well done, I’m proud of you.”

“Thanks, Clarke. We all know that if it wasn’t for the children that you would have volunteered right along with Roan. The King and Queen could have slept in the castle!” Harper said.

“Yeah, yeah. Roan and I have already had this discussion. Apparently they lived in a palace, not a castle so it’s a new one on him, too!”

Berndt spent the evening talking with Harper and Monty and then he spoke with Hermione and Kane. He was very much impressed with Monty since it was he who insisted on cleaning the wheel shaft so that they could get a thorough look at the break. They had thought it was a mere crack but the cleaning had revealed that it was a break and that they were lucky that the weight of the shuttle had kept it together.

He also liked the way that Harper and Monty talked about how Clarke negotiated and organised people so that as many as possible could survive and that there were resources so that all the survivors should be able to live afterwards. It was Clarke who negotiated with the various specialists to be in the various locations for the five years and the one who went to re-establish communications with Polis, the WH and CD bunkers so that it was possible for everyone to remain in contact as soon as the ambient radiation had cleared enough to allow the radio waves through.

Berndt didn’t like to think it, but he rather thought that Jaha would be content to leave them all in Europe despite his previous promise, and the fact that many of his own people would also be stuck. He didn’t know, but from what Harper and Monty said, if that did prove to be the case Clarke would try to work out a way to get them all to the States.

Berndt asked Kane what he thought about Clarke’s idea of bringing the Arc down.

“I think it’s probably the best idea anyone could have come up with. She’s the one who suggested algae farms to increase oxygen levels; she also talked with her people to get the idea to move everyone out of the flimsy stations that were leaking oxygen. From what others have said, she was also the one to question why it was thought that the earth would not be survivable for another 100 years and got the experts to look for another upcoming catastrophe. I admire Clarke and her leadership skills very much and hope to move to Mt Orlan when I finally reach the earth to settle. Bellamy, the one in charge of the day to day management of Mt Orlan, is also a very inspirational leader. He makes you want to do the work even when it’s an awful job that needs doing. Other than coming here, none of the upper management has ever asked their people to do something they haven’t done themselves; but even that is not strictly true since Roan is part of the upper management and he is here, or at least on this side of the Atlantic.”

Kane’s words confirmed Berndt’s decision: he went to talk to Monty.

Jaha decided that the shuttle would go straight to the Arc for repairs but that the Europeans would be on it so they wouldn’t be stuck on the other side of the Atlantic to the rest of his people. That immediately upset some of the original Europeans since they did not feel that they were his people yet. Three others decided that they would watch and wait before choosing whether or not they wanted to stay with the Arkers or move to Mt Orlan with the Northerners.

Berndt and Hermione asked if they could share the arduous and hazardous journey across the Atlantic with Monty and Harper. A relatively quick conversation with Clarke via Roan and it was agreed provided they made sure to take plenty of rations because it would be at least three weeks, probably closer to six, before they would get any more food; and that they were both fit and well.

The repairs were carried out as best they could without any lifting gear. The mechanics were fairly confident that they would at least be able to lift off. Everyone bar Berndt, Hermione, Monty and Harper packed up everything they could and loaded it into the shuttle.

The fairwells were not particularly tearful or heartfelt: Harper thought that there was too much general apprehension. The four remainers watched with bated breath as the shuttle sped up and all sighed with relief when it safely took to the skies.

“Right, let’s have a quick search of the bunker to see if there is anything that might be useful to us that we could take” Harper said, all practicality. “I believe Raven said something about power generation and storage; but I’m sure anything will be great.”

It was Berndt who led them to generator room and they found plenty of things that were portable that they could take: they even made sure that they had lots of weather proof covers so that they could keep some things outside the rover when they camped at night. All in all, it was going to be an extremely uncomfortable return journey. 

They secured the pilfered things onto the roof of the rover and began what would be the easiest part of their journey. It was a relatively comfortable drive to meet up with Roan and the horses. The five of them looked a lot better than when Harper and Monty last saw them. It was probably a testament of how tough the crossing actually was for them.

“You look better” Harper said.

“I was able to use the trough to have a bath and a shave; I got lots of sleep and I didn’t have to worry about anything other than making sure we’re ready for the return. You’re not looking as well as I thought you would for people who have been comfortable in a bunker. Hello, I’m Roan, Deputy Officer for Strategic Affairs” and Roan offered his left hand to the two new comers.

“Sorry, I should have introduced you as soon as we arrived” Harper said, taking full responsibility. “Roan, this is Berndt, a mechanic from Berlin; and Hermione who appears to be a diplomat from London.”

“I tended to be the one to settle disputes, a bit like a judge, and to plan what we would need to do to maintain the bunker, but only did any of the actual work under close supervision” Hermione said. “Diplomat just about sums it up, though.”

“Good to meet you both. I hope you are both very strong because at times the next part of the journey is going to be hell” Roan said.

Both Berndt and Hermione were sizing up Roan, but for two different reasons. Berndt had wondered if being offered Roan’s left hand to shake was a test of some sort or if he really didn’t know that it was traditionally the right hand that offered. It appeared that there was something wrong with his right hand, but surely there was no way a man with an injured arm would be suitable for such a hazardous journey? Perhaps he had injured it on the journey and neither Monty nor Harper had wanted to embarrass Roan by mentioning it.

Hermione was sizing up Roan because he was a very attractive man and she thought that he and she could keep each other warm and entertained on the long nights ahead. Of-course Hermione knew that Roan was married; but she wasn’t looking to get between him and his wife, just spend some time together before they moved back to real life.

Monty and Berndt were completely oblivious to Hermione’s interest; but Roan wasn’t and he would wait to see how far she would push it before putting her in her place; and neither was Harper who was going to make sure that Hermione was headed off at the pass since she did not want to witness the certain fall out if Hermione pressed her case.

“So this will be your last night sleeping in a castle, unless you decide to build one back home” Monty joked.

Roan smiled (and unwittingly increased Hermione’s fascination) and said “I don’t think it will be if you tech heads work out a way to get us over here fairly easily because I expect that a lot of these ancient buildings have treasures that we could love”.

“What do you mean?” Berndt asked.

“I found some wood. Not a lot, and not in good condition, but none-the-less, wood that survived the first apocalypse and praim faya. Who knows what else may have survived in buildings built to the same high standards? I’m going to give it to Clarke: I’m sure she’ll think of something fitting to do with it.”

“So, Monty, when do you think you tech heads will have worked out a way for us to travel back and forth with relative ease?” Harper asked.

“No idea; you’ll have to ask Raven since she is, after all, Tech Heda and I’m sure it will be she who will come up with the plans.”

“Not Clarke?” Hermione was a little snide. “I thought Clarke was the one who comes up with all the plans.”

“Clarke will probably steer Raven in the direction she needs to go since although she is not a mechanic or engineer, Clarke does have a good understanding of what should be feasible and knows how to prioritise the projects. Clarke knows it wouldn’t do to let Raven become bored once she has sorted out the civil engineering work for our town” Monty suggested.

“She has a list” Roan added. “Clarke admitted that it wasn’t fixed, but she has an idea of future projects for Raven and her team. I don’t know what weight is given to keeping Raven happy and what is geared towards trade, but I know that both are factors in considering what goes on the list and where. They’ll both be glad to have at least one new team member to join them.

“Does anyone know if the Arc will be able to send the drop ships close to Areasi or if they will have to land close to us?”

Roan’s change of subject puzzled the others, but Monty tried to answer it anyway. “In theory, they should be able to programme exact co-ordinates for where they are to land so should be able to land close to Areasi. Why?”

“It would be better in one way if they could go direct to Areasi without us having to transport them, although we will need to make a journey to collect our people; but there could be problems because we will not be able to control what weapons they have and we could find that they don’t let our people go easily. We will have the people who will need to crash land to help with a smooth exchange but Clarke doesn’t think that Jaha will behave rationally.”

“Not sure if it’s helpful, but they programmed our dropship to land on Mt Weather but we were miles away, just as well, really, but who knows what they’re gonna do. I agree with Clarke, though; Jaha he does not always behave rationally and it’s gonna be worse when he realises that Wells is one of those wishing to live with us, and Kane” Monty was pessimistic.

“Just as well that Clarke is on top of it and has a plan, then, isn’t it?” Harper was upbeat.

“How do you know that Clarke has a plan?” Hermione was starting to get on Roan’s nerves.

“Because she always has plans, most of which are never needed, but she has contingency plans, plans in case the contingency plans go awry, and more plans just in case there’s further problems. Just hope you never get to find out how thorough Clarke is in her planning for things to go wrong” Harper said. “Both Monty and Roan are alive because of Clarke’s planning.”

Roan smirked, Monty looked sheepish and said “Yeah, I thought she was being over cautious but I was wrong and if it wasn’t for the worst case planning I would have died. Because I ignored the plan, a lot of valuable equipment was ruined when an EMP had to be deployed to get me released. Of-course we can get it working again, but it will take a lot of time and there are other priorities. An expensive lesson, but then I heard about the chickens so I guess I’m not the only one.”

This time it was Berndt who asked what chickens had to do with anything.

“Nothing to do with Clarke, this one” Roan said. “It seems that some people didn’t agree that cleaning is as important as any other job and so carried out a half assed clean of one of the chicken coups. We lost half of our flock to disease because of that. Since then, everyone has been more diligent in making sure that when it is their turn to clean, they do the job thoroughly.”

“Who has to do cleaning?” Hermione sounded a little apprehensive.

“Everyone!” replied Roan, Monty and Harper together. “If you are assigned to a specific area, for example Monty is usually computers, so he is part of the team that will make sure the Control Room is kept clean. Clarke is a doctor, so she along with the other medical staff, are responsible for keeping the med bay clean. Admittedly the more senior staff clean less than the junior staff but they do still have to take their turn. Others who do general cleaning only have that as their part time job and can do something more interesting for the rest of their time. We don’t have many children so sometimes people are part time cleaners and part time teachers. Cleaning the toilets is a punishment for minor offences so there is usually no shortage of people who do that job!” Roan explained.

“So Clarke is a doctor and head of strategy?” Berndt wanted to clarify.

“Yes. I don’t know where she finds the time to do everything” Harper said. “I don’t think her family feel that she doesn’t have enough time for them either, I know her friends don’t.”

“Now that Jackson is back from Areasi she is needed in medical less” Roan admitted. “She just keeps an eye on what is happening, she calls it ‘doing rounds’ every day and spends a whole day there cleaning, stock taking and talking strategy with the rest of the staff. If there was something serious, she would be there in a heart beat to assist. I don’t know when she last had a whole day to just relax, though. Perhaps she’s resting now that the birth is so near” the latter point was said more in hope than expectation as Harper snorted in amusement.

“You do remember what she was like when she was expecting Jake, don’t you? And without you there you can bet Jake is a bit of a nightmare, so no, she won’t be resting” Harper said.

Roan smiled fondly in remembrance as he thought about how often Clarke demanded sex to help her prepare for the birth; and then his thoughts turned darker as he realised that he was no longer there to help her. Hermione saw the frown and assumed that it meant there was trouble in paradise.

The group settled down for the night; Roan got on the radio to speak with his family. He spoke to Jake and asked if he was behaving himself for his mama.

“Echo said me naughty!” Jake was affronted.

“I expect you were” Roan agreed with Echo. “What did you do?”

“Good now” Jake avoided the subject. “You come home?”

Roan told his son that he was on his way but that it was night time now and it was time for him to go to sleep. Jake was so amused at the idea that his nontu was going to sleep before him that he passed the radio to his mama without complaint.

Roan deliberately spoke to Clarke in trig so that Hermione wouldn’t know what he was saying. He told Clarke about how the woman appeared to be coming on to him and hoped that his indifference was enough to put her off since he didn’t want any tension for the long journey.

“Let her and the man see you remove your arm and you may have reactions to go by. They will be interesting if nothing else. Anything else of interest?” Clarke asked.

“No, just worried that you’re not resting enough. What did Jake do for Echo to tell him off?”

“He told Otan that he was stupid and hit him because Otan’s drawing was better than his. I was impressed that Jake was able to see that Otan’s drawing was very good. Emori and Murphy both said that it was a lucky one off but I’m going to keep an eye on him. I need a trainee artist: you don’t know if any of our new people from Europe are artists, do you?”

“No, but I shall find out before long. Now, niron, you rest, I’m going to strip for the audience. I’ll tell you how it goes tomorrow. I love you and our family.”

“I’m going to imagine you stripping and I’m going to enjoy it a hell of a lot more than you will. I love you too. Stay safe.”

Monty and Harper, who understood all that was said, could barely contain their sniggers. Monty, who until Roan had mentioned it hadn’t noticed Hermione hitting on Roan, but now he thought about it, he could see that she had been doing so. Like Roan, he hoped that Hermione could be put off because it would be very awkward otherwise.

“Harper, Clarke asked if you could look at my arm. Even after six years she is not convinced that I know how to look after it” Roan grumbled and began to take his upper layers off.

“That might be because there was a time when you didn’t” Harper reminded Roan. “Hurry up so I can look at it and then you can reassure her tomorrow that I pronounced it good.”

Roan carried on stripping, well aware that his upper body is in most circles considered to be attractive. He didn’t bother removing the vest, since it wasn’t in the way. Ignoring the gasps as the metal arm was revealed he went through the steps of taking it, and then the cuff off.

“What the hell happened to your arm?” Berndt asked.

“Clarke cut it off” Roan said. “It was how we met. Someone who hated my mother decided to kill me since they couldn’t get to her, and I got stabbed with a poisoned knife with no known cure. Clarke had me carted about with my arm hanging down, wrists sliced to try to stop the poison spreading. When she got me to her operating room she had me promise that if she saved my life I would live it to the full. Of-course I thought there was no way I was going to live through the poison and the blood loss but I promised her anyway. Right pissed I was too when I came to and realised what she had done to me. Clarke made sure that I knew she felt no pity for me and that she expected me to get out of myself and start to realise that I hadn’t lost anything. Raven designed my new arm. Well, Harper, is the site good?”

“Yes, no excessive redness. You’re keeping your muscle tone so the cuff and arm are still the right size. You can tell Clarke that all is well. Are we all bedding down together?” 

“Yeah, I think so. If we set out all the blankets we should be comfortable enough to get a good night’s sleep since it will be our last for a while. If I sleep here against the wall, then you two” he pointed at Monty and Harper, “and then you two. We should be warm enough. Is the rover secured?”

“I’ll double check and make sure we have all the blankets, Berndt, come help and I can show what we need to do every night to secure the solar panels” Monty said.

“Come on, Hermione, let’s help carry blankets” Harper said as she dragged the woman away from the object of her fascination. “Don’t even try to go there” Harper warned. “If you make your feelings any more blatant then Roan will no longer be able to just ignore them and you will not like the result.”

“How do you know? He and I may be able to have a great time together. Let’s face it, with a pregnant wife and this journey he hasn’t had any for a while and I bet he could do with a good, long, hard … . Ow! What the hell was that for?”

Harper slapped Hermione. “I wouldn’t be surprised if they had been having radio sex for the past few nights so Roan doesn’t need anything. I slapped you; Roan will eviscerate you; Clarke will make you wish you were dead; Echo will make you believe you are and that you’re in hell. You will come away from an attempt to seduce Roan with nothing good. Even before Clarke and he got together people were always throwing themselves at him. He availed himself of one of them for one time. Neither of them have wanted to acknowledge that it ever happened. Possibly it actually didn’t and they just spent the night together as friends, but Roan has gone a lot longer than this without sex and he is grown up enough to know that one of the cornerstones of a happy marriage is trust. He will not break Clarke’s trust. Do yourself a favour, Hermione, and forget Roan as a potential anything. Let us get home and allow this to fade out of our memories and all will be well: push it and nothing for you will be. When we get back, there will be other men for you to pick up.”

Hermione thought about Harper’s words: it was true that the potential for awkwardness was huge if Roan didn’t want to take her up on her offer, and she guessed that both Roan and Clarke could make her life difficult (she didn’t know who Echo was so ignored Harper’s words about that woman). What she didn’t understand is why it was such a big deal. So she asked.

“Why is it such a big deal, it’s only sex?”

“If a person is not committed then it isn’t a big deal” Harper agreed. “But once vows are exchanged then anyone who tries to come between them is in for a world of hurt. Bellamy has two wives. That is not an issue. He married them both together in the same ceremony. The same applies to their union: you don’t make a move on a bonded person. The law allows for the injured party to challenge the perpetrator and let me tell you that there is no way you could beat Clarke in a duel. Vows are taken very seriously; as are promises. You do not give your word unless you intend to keep it. It is one the things that distinguish us from the Arkers.”

Luckily for Roan’s piece of mind Hermione decided against pressing her suit on him. He thought about what they could do to keep her happy, but away from all the chosen men of Mt Orlan. He mentally snickered to himself as he thought about a way forward for the woman, one that would probably suit everyone since she didn’t appear to have a specific area of expertise.

Clarke agreed with Roan when he radioed with his idea the next morning. Harper wanted to have a quick word so that she could tell Clarke (and by virtue of him hearing the conversation, Roan, too) of what happened when they went to get the blankets from the rover. Clarke was even more convinced that Roan’s plan was a good idea.

The journey home started out reasonably okay. Roan led the horses who were pulling the trailer. Monty drove the rover with Harper in the passenger seat monitoring their position and anything that the drone might pick up. Berndt and Hermione sat in the back and wondered what all the fuss was about. Lunch and toileting brought home that there were now no comforts.

The afternoon saw Monty and Harper switch roles and Berndt asked if there was anything that he and Hermione could do.

“We could teach you how to drive and work the drone when we take a break so that you two can take some of the burden” Harper said. “That will allow me to spend a bit more time with the horses; but when we need you to do something, please do exactly what we say as soon as we say it. The going is about to get tougher and we will all need to pull together.”

“Are you sure that you don’t just want to spend a bit more time with Roan?” Hermione asked.

Harper and Monty shared a private smile. “I like someone a bit calmer, civilised and without that raw power that makes me feel safe but so very inferior” Harper said. “I like someone who understands me and where I come from; someone who loves and values me; someone who gives me peace and happiness. As much as I like Roan, even without Clarke he would never have been able to give me that. I admit I would rather spend time with Roan than you, but the same doesn’t apply to the others in here” Harper added with a bite.

Monty taught both Hermione and Berndt how to drive. It meant that they were able to share the driving while Monty operated the drone and navigation. Harper spent most of the time in the rover resting so that she could do most of the work with the horses once they had stopped for the night to allow Roan more time to relax (and dodge Hermione’s not so subtle passes that she seemed to be unable to help herself from making).

It was the third night in that Roan raised the question of any of the Europeans being artists. “Clarke said that we need an arts teacher” Roan added.

“Can’t Clarke do it?” Hermione couldn’t stop making the snide comments.

“Well if she had more hours in each day she could” Harper replied. “The mural she did was wonderful and the drawings of the planned outdoors settlement are an inspiration, but really she does have enough on her plate.”

Hermione was a little taken aback and thought that Harper was probably being snide herself so just shrugged it off and answered Roan’s original question in the negative.

“Well it looks like Clarke is going to have to find another couple of hours a week for arts lessons” Roan shrugged.

“I thought we had a maximum working week of 60 hours” Monty said.

“That does not seem to apply to Clarke, Bellamy, Raven, Luna and me” Roan replied. “I think Clarke works about 80 hours each week. Raven is worse because even when she is supposed to be relaxing she always seems to be fiddling with something useful.”

“Yeah, I remember that about Raven” Monty put in. “If she wasn’t officially on the clock she was playing with things. She made our first walkie-talkies while playing.”

“How do you not resent all the hours she puts in instead spending time with you and your family?” Hermione, this time not snidely, asked.

“I know that Clarke would do anything for her people, as would I; and don’t forget that she and I work together a lot of the time, and we train together. Sometimes Clarke takes Jake to the med bay when she’s working there in case that’s where his field of expertise lay in the future. Before Clarke I was a solitary person, now I have friends with whom I wish to spend time, sometimes with Clarke, sometimes not. Of-course I wish we could spend more time together but Clarke wouldn’t be the woman I love if she didn’t work so hard for her people. When life is quiet, we’re together more” Roan explained.

They were more than half way across the Atlantic when Monty noted a storm ahead. He looked at his tablet and told Hermione to turn around. Monty told Harper what was going on. Harper got out of the rover to inform Roan so he understood why they turned around: there was a ridge not too far back that would provide some form or shelter for the horses.

They reached the spot Monty was aiming for and once everyone was out of the vehicle they were instructed to dig.

“Why?” Berndt asked.

“There’s lightening ahead and currently the horses are the tallest objects around and therefore likely to attract it. We need to make a big enough ditch so that they can all stand in it and for the canopy to be less tall than this ridge, so dig” Harper instructed.

With the three shovels they had Monty, Berndt and Hermione began to dig the area Harper marked out while she searched in the back of the rover for the horses rubber boots which were a lot harder to find than their coats. Lincoln thought Clarke was crazy when she insisted on the horses having rubber boots but Harper was glad of them. 

Roan arrived and unhitched the trailer from the horses and helped the others with the digging while Harper saw to the horses. The one not using a shovel was instructed remove and store the solar panels safely and to split the supplies evenly between the trailer and the rover so that if one got lost in the storm the other would keep them alive. Monty erected a lightning conductor not too far from them in the hope that it would help keep them safe. Once again Hermione was snide about the excessive precautions.

Once the horses were shod and coated, Harper erected the canopy that would hopefully provide some shelter from the rain. She and Roan would have to be with the horses to try to keep them calm and she guessed it would be a most unpleasant time.

Harper was correct: the wind and rain were vicious. The sand, blowing in seemingly all directions, was making it very difficult to breathe so she and Roan stood in the centre of a horse star trying to keep the poor, terrified animals safe. She and Roan knew that the storm would pass, the horses did not. They had no idea what was happening outside of their little circle.

“That storm is bad. Will Roan and Harper be safe with the horses?” Berndt asked from the relative safety of the rover.

“They know what they are doing” Monty replied. “Roan in particular is good with the horses and Harper has tried to spend as much time with them as she can so that they could learn to trust her too. And that is why we erected a lightening conductor” he added as it was visibly hit by a bolt of lightning.

“How long do you think this will last?” Hermione was a little more subdued than usual.

“Another couple of hours. When we’re sure it’s safe, we do whatever Roan tells us, even if it is to stay in rover while he and Harper walk them around a bit to calm them down. When they are sure the horses are okay, we then check that both Roan and Harper are fine. Then we check the supplies. No doubt it will then be safe to remove the lightening rod, attach the solar panels, and let Roan radio Clarke so she’ll know if there is any damage that she’ll need to do something to help us with. We probably won’t make any more progress today so will just set up camp for the night – unless we have lost some supplies and need to get back as quickly as possible.”

It turned out that the trailer was damaged and the supplies it was storing were gone.

The horses’ coats were badly torn from the flying sand and their hips were cut badly enough to need some treatment. Harper appeared to have a broken foot and a wrenched shoulder, but otherwise everyone else was okay.

“Harper, you rest for the remaining journey” Roan declared. Since none of you can ride, you will have to be cramped in the rover. We travel as fast as we can. Monty, your control of the drone will be even more important with navigation. We will be met at Nova Scotia, wherever that is, with more supplies so that is where we’re heading.”

Monty didn’t say that they were heading for Nova Scotia anyway. Without the trailer for the horses to pull it meant that they could travel faster. That did not mean that it was plain sailing: no, the horses were still needed to pull the rover when it got bogged down, with Berndt helping Roan to encourage then to struggle themselves with the sand and to pull the heavy vehicle, which it did a few times. Harper made use of her rest time by repairing the horses’ socks and coats, making sure that the horses were no more damaged than they needed to be. The journey was so exhausting that even Hermione didn’t have the energy to hit on Roan anymore!

When they were almost at their destination, Berndt pointed out a green light going straight up in the sky.

“That’s our target” Monty said. “That’s where our people are waiting for us. We’re almost there!”

It was a hungry, exhausted, bedraggled, but thanks to the daily rain not thirsty, group that were greeted by the beautiful site of a truck, another rover and two motor bikes; as well as a group of friends.

“Nontu!” shouted a small boy as he ran towards the suddenly smiling man on a giant horse.

“Jake! What are you doing here? It is so good to see you. Have you been good? Is your mama well?” Roan asked without giving Jake a chance to respond.

“Nontu, we have princess!”

“We do?”

“Yes we do, and you’re late!” said the voice that Roan missed so much. “We missed you so much. Don’t worry, I won’t hold it against you, this time. Let me introduce you to Princess Ash.”

“Ash?” Roan asked.

“Yeah, I spoke to Echo and she agreed that I could do that. Echo can continue to honour the late Echo, while young Ash can live to honour the Ash that had to die for Nia. Do you approve?” Clarke asked anxiously: they hadn’t been able to agree on any names for this one.

“I think it very fitting. Thank you, my love, for giving me a princess, for bringing my family to meet me, and for not making me miss the next conception! Come on, let me introduce you to our two new members” Roan said as he kissed his wife.

“Ah yes, the slutty witch wanna be” Clarke muttered. “Yeah, let me meet them, we can all eat, Harper can have a bath and I’ll check on her foot and shoulder, then you. The others can fight it out between them as to who bathes first. Lincoln and Octavia will stay here with the horses to rest them before heading back to Mt Orlan. Bellamy and Branch want to ride the motor bikes.”

“Bellamy’s here?” Roan was surprised that he hadn’t noticed him.

“Yeah, officially he came to welcome Berndt and Hermione. Unofficially he came to have the excuse to ride the bike” Clarke snorted. “We’ll stay here for the night. We brought plenty of supplies and then set off for home tomorrow: okay with you?”

Roan smiled and said “It is very okay with me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well that was a long one: over 10,000 words!
> 
> Anyone guess what Roan's plan for Hermione is? I promise, it's not bad.
> 
> The next chapter will make it clear that Clarke's use of the word 'bath' was a little generous so don't worry, they haven't suddenly found the nirvana of camping!


	33. Friend Or Foe?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will Hermione and Berndt turn out to be friends, or foes? What about the people who come from space, are they friends or foes?
> 
> Lexa and Costia's wedding goes off almost without any hitches!

“How did you get the water warm?” Harper asked as she stood being assisted to wash with warm soapy water by Clarke.

“It was something Raven was working on” Clarke explained. “It can’t heat a lot of water but it can certainly take the chill off. Once we’re sure you’re all clean, I’ll rinse you off with this lovely warm water before helping you to get dressed in these lovely clean clothes. I’ll then put a sling on your shoulder and immobilise your foot. I’ll then ask one of our lovely strong men to carry you wherever you need to go. You’ll need surgery on that once we get back home, but it will heal completely provided you follow your doctor’s orders!”

Harper grunted her acknowledgement and asked “What’s the plan for dealing with Hermione?” because she knew there had to be one.

“It was Roan’s idea. He’s suggested we send her on a diplomatic mission to Eden” Clarke said with a smile.

“I think she will have a great time there. Just be sure to give her an objective or two so she doesn’t find out that it is all a sham.”

“It isn’t totally a sham” Clarke insisted. “She and the rest of the Europeans will have only the Arker’s point of view of the coalition and since she is here and doesn’t immediately fall into a position like Berndt I want her to get a realistic picture to pass to the others when they get here. Also, I do want her to show how much she can be a peacekeeping diplomat because we could do with more of them, especially when dealing with the Arkers; and if she proves to be competent, then that can be her specific part time role – mobile diplomat: she can travel the country on a motorbike talking to all our friends and allies keeping us on their good side, or at least getting information about why we’re on their bad side. I’ll give her to Echo to teach her how to fight, and be sneaky in case she needs those skills. She can come with us when we go with Costia to Eden and she can stay for a while.”

“I don’t think I ever want to get on your bad side” Harper said. “Was the other part of the journey north successful?”

“Yeah; we dropped Hector and Leah off in Montreal. A lot of that town was built underground so much seems to have survived the death wave even if the radiation still seeped in to kill everyone. They should be able to scavenge enough to live, or find the means to end it, whatever is their choice” Clarke was fairly confident that after a while they would decide to kill themselves.

“How did Roan take it?”

“We talked about it while he was alone in the castle. I think he was surprised, pleased, that only Leah elected to go with Hector. He hopes that means that the others will make proper efforts to integrate with us this time. Anyway, in a surprising turn of events, Branch and Willow have begun a relationship.”

Harper was puzzled: “Why is Branch with us? I thought he had been granted permission to live in Eden.”

“He had but he got some stick for it since he, unlike the others, wasn’t chosen. We made him swear fealty to Northernkru so that he can never go back to Eden for anything more than a visit. Lincoln is happy since Branch was one of his friends.”

While everyone was enjoying their evening meal Clarke announced that Jaha had told her that they would try to send the dropships to within five miles of Areasi so that we won’t need to be concerned about transporting them. “I didn’t tell him that I wasn’t concerned at all, I just asked about the people who were planning on moving to Mt Orlan” Clarke said. “He told me that they would all be remaining on the Arc until it came down. I think he thought that would upset me because he doesn’t think anyone can survive an Arc fall.”

“Does that mean he won’t order the work to make sure the station to come down isn’t as secure as possible?” Monty asked.

“Apparently Kane has said that he will be amongst the last group to come down and that he would make sure everything possible was being done. The main mechanics and skilled workers would come down on the last drop ship. I believe that means that many of the others will realise that Jaha had essentially written them off and want to transfer their loyalties to us. We’ll have to work on the building programme, just in case they do. Many of our current people want to move outside, anyway so the homes won’t go to waste.”

“Kane was a bit weird with me” Harper said. “He snapped at me for not talking about Jaha respectfully enough but he told Berndt that he wanted to live with us, so I wonder what he is playing at.”

“He later told me that he hadn’t said anything to his people about wanting to live in Mt Orlan and doesn’t want them to know for a while. From what I have heard, it would have been expected of him to reprimand someone who spoke in a disrespectful manner about his Chancellor” Berndt said.

“Yeah, probably” Harper agreed. “Calvin was there as well and if he thought about it he would think it odd if Kane had let it pass.” 

“Kane is known to be a brown nosing stick in the mud, a by the book firmly on the side of the Chancellor council member” Bellamy added. “I wonder what caused the change.”

“Hopefully we’ll get the chance to talk to him to find out” Roan was bored with the subject. “I have a gift for you, niron” and he went to get the pieces of wood he found in the castle.

“Oh I know the perfect thing to do with this” Clarke exclaimed. “While you three were off being all strong, brave and heroic; I was being clever, sneaky and diplomatic. Titus had to be neutralised with regard to Costia so I wangled it that Titus would perform the bonding ceremony between the Commander and Costia, and he agreed publicly to do so. Even though past commanders had never bonded, love being weakness and all that crap, there is nothing that says they can’t; and with the law that to harm one’s chosen is the same as harming the person, Titus knows that any attack on Costia is the same as an attack on the Commander and that to do so is Treason. The Commander, Luna and Costia all agree that that is the best protection that Costia can have. So, the pieces of wood, they can be carved into the black half of a chess set, and the white half could be made from glass and that could be our bonding gift to the Commander and Costia. What do you think?”

“I think, my love, that you are indeed clever and sneaky. Well done, it is an excellent idea” Roan agreed.

“Hermione, Harper said you have been used to being somewhat of a peace keeping diplomat, if that’s so I’m afraid I want to throw you in at the deep end. We, Roan and I, will need to visit Eden for the ceremony and be all majesterial; I want you to accompany us. The reason is twofold: I want you to get to know the various clans, we’ll give you some background before you go so you’re not completely in the dark, work out if they have some sort of hierarchy - in theory they shouldn’t, all clans being equal, but often that proves not to be the case in practice, be a sort of diplomatic spy, so we can work out who we need to be on the good side of other than the Commander and her team. The second thing I will want you to find out is if there is any resentment towards us, primarily, but also to the Arkers; and if possible, if there is any towards Costia and the Commander, or inter clan rivalries. If you agree, we will leave you there with a guard for a while, I shall ask the Commander if you can be there to learn about the coalition so that you can talk to the people joining us to counteract the bad press that would have already been given to them by Jaha and his coterie, since you will be seen as a neutral. What do you think?”

Roan was so impressed with how Clarke managed that tricky little plan.

“Do you really think I am the best person for the job?” Hermione asked, sounding very unsure and diffident.

“If you think you can play the part of naïve ingénue, full of interest, a little awe and maybe add a touch of distaste that you take great steps to hide, then I am sure you can pick up on all sorts of vibes. They know us too well to be fooled by any of our long standing members” Clarke played with the truth.

“Okay then, I’ll give it a go. How long will I need to stay there for?” Hermione asked.

“Well I’ll need to ask the Commander, but I was hoping for a maximum of three months, but as long as we maintain radio contact, do you speak any languages other than English? So we can discuss progress and plan accordingly, it can be very flexible.”

“I speak French” Hermione said.

“Then when we have our radio conversations, they should be in French, can you practice being crap at English in the meantime?”

“Mais bien sur!” Hermione replied.

“Everyone here, for the time being, you have to be patient with Hermione, her English is not good. Of-course that subterfuge goes down the drain when the others come down from the Arc but it shouldn’t be necessary any more by then” Clarke ordered.

“You’re up to something” Octavia said. “I don’t know what it is, but I know you’re up to something.”

Clarke half smiled at her friend. “I’m not sure that I need to be up to something, but it’s just a feeling I have from something Branch said. I might be seeing things, hearing things, that are just not there, I hope it’s all in my over active imagination, but I want to be sure and then I’ll apologise to you, Hermione, for sending you on a wild goose chase, as the saying goes.”

“Then I think that Lincoln and I should be the guard” Octavia said.

Clarke looked to Lincoln, then Roan, then Bellamy and since all three only nodded their agreement Clarke agreed “You should be back in time before we need to set off for Eden”. 

As they were just about to set off the next morning they saw the first drop ship fall from the sky. Because of how far north they were, they couldn’t tell how close to Areasi it landed as opposed to Mt Orlan. No doubt they would receive an SOS if it turned out it landed miles from Areasi.

Their journey to Mt Orlan was long but boring. Hermione and Berndt infinitely preferred it that way. Roan relished the opportunity to be with Clarke, Jake and Ash, but since they were hardly ever alone it wasn’t as good as it could have been. Still, it was nice not to feel that the skin on his face was being ripped away by the biting wind and the sand.

Two days later the second drop ship fell from the sky. Since there had been no message about a problem Clarke had to assume all was well with the landings and that they were close enough to Areasi to hike there. It was seven days later that the third ship landed. Clarke wondered at the cause for the delay: no doubt one of the remaining Areasians would tell Don and she would find out that way.

Monty’s first task back home was to establish direct radio contact with the Arc. He was asked to work with Don to make sure that Areasi would not be able to intercept their conversations. Until all the drop ships had left, the contact would, ostensibly, be purely about maintaining contact with those who had declared their wish to join the people of Mt Orlan, and to co-ordinate the Arc fall with Kane.

What didn’t surprise Clarke in the slightest is that Jaha had ordered all the skilled workers to be in the drop ships: the only ones left, other than those destined for Mt Orlan, were cleaners and kitchen workers plus two Guards who volunteered to remain to help keep the peace (Clarke understood that to mean that they would also wish to stay with Mt Orlan). Clarke thought that Jaha had miscalculated: did he think that those who had been used to working to a higher rank would be happy to carry out the grunt work for long which is what would have to happen without the unskilled workers because someone had to do it?

Clarke discovered that the delay in sending the third drop ship was caused by an attempt to take the drop ship by those who were told they would have to go to Earth with the Arc. It was only after all the drop ships had landed that Kane admitted that he had those attempting to take the ship locked up rather than floated like Jaha had insisted happen.

“They all know they’ve been abandoned” Kane said to Clarke. “My mother was not one of those selected for the drop ships and I couldn’t leave her. I learned the hard way to appreciate my loved ones and I wasn’t going to lose another loved one when I didn’t need to. Some of the others who are still here volunteered for the same reasons. Thelonious told me that I was crazy when I told him why I wouldn’t be on the last ship like he expected.”

“I understand your reasoning, but why not come clean earlier? And what about the others still there? Do they want to eventually find their way to Areasi?” Clarke asked.

“Some are thinking about staying here because they feel that other than that small patch of Eden, there isn’t much worth seeing on Earth, which means that Farm Station will have to remain if they do decide that. If they stay here, at least they will know what to expect, have a degree of security that they’ve never had before. I couldn’t say anything earlier in case Thelonious ordered some of the Guards to make sure I was on the ship. I don’t think anyone here actually wants to go to Areasi, maybe a handful or two at most” Kane said.

“Okay, when it’s time for the station to drop we can talk more about the numbers. Do you think more would be willing to come down here if we could arrange visits to Eden? Perhaps we could set up a type of old fashioned holiday home there. The coalition people will not accept anything from us if they don’t feel they are giving back, this is something that I think we could ask for from them – your mother would love it there” Clarke offered a subtle bribe.

“I’ll talk to them. Some might feel a little traitorous for not wanting to go to Areasi. I’ll give them some time to think about their various options.”

“Well we have plenty of time before the snow falls which is when we need to decide the exact timing and other planning.

“Kane?

“Marcus, are you still there?

“What’s going on? MARCUS!”

“Erm, Clarke, a very large space ship has appeared in range. I have no idea who they are.”

“What? Goodness; it must be one of the Eligius ships. Hail them. We’ll try too, keep an open channel and remember that Areasi might be listening.”

Clarke immediately got on to the intercom calling for the senior team to come to the Control room “Stat!”

The tablet with ALIE’s programme was set up and Clarke explained what Kane said about the ship. “Could it be one of the Eligius ships?” she asked Raven and ALIE.

“Probably. You should hail them” ALIE advised.

A quick look to everyone else showed they agreed with ALIE and had Clarke reaching for the mic with Raven fiddling with the radio settings.

“This is Clarke of Mt Orlan, formerly known as Mt Weather, hailing the unknown ship, presumably from the Eligius fleet above Earth. Come in, please. This is Clarke, Head of Strategy and External Relations of the Northerners based in Mt Orlan, formerly known as Mt Weather calling the unknown ship, presumed to be from the Eligius fleet: come in, please.”

This time Clarke waited a couple of minutes before she spoke again, repeating what she said earlier. She was interrupted by Kane.

“Clarke, a drop ship has left the main ship, heading for Earth.”

“Raven make this go out on all frequencies.”

Raven flipped a few switches, turned a couple of dials and nodded to Clarke.

“This is Clarke hailing the drop ship heading to Earth; make for these co-ordinates” and Clarke gave the co-ordinates for the Camp David bunker. Speaking off mic she asked ALIE if it would be possible for Raven to hack into the computer systems of the drop ship to make sure it lands where they want.

“Yeah, it is: I just might not have enough time if it wants to go somewhere else, though. Keep trying to talk to them” Raven replied.

“This is Clarke of the Northerners of Mt Orlan hailing the drop ship heading for Earth: please head for these co-ordinates. Please be advised that landing outside of the immediate vicinity of the given co-ordinates could be deemed an act of aggression.”

“I’m in” Raven exclaimed. “They were heading for the centre of Eden! Bloody hell, they would have killed who knows how many and done a shit load of damage. Top right screen, we’re shielded” and an image of the bridge of a ship came on screen.

“An act of aggression, my ass” a woman said.

“I say we bomb the hell out of this Mt Orlan” said a man.

“Colonel, we’re being controlled. They’re sending us to the co-ordinates they gave us. We can’t bomb anything” another guy said.

“Then you had better get control back again hadn’t you?” said the first man.

“I’m trying!”

“Try harder ‘coz if you don’t then I guess I’m gonna get to shoot you after all.”

Clarke indicated that she wanted to talk to them again,

“If you shoot him, or anyone, or even use some other weapon to hurt him or anyone, we will initiate the self-destruct sequence and then our problems go away. Now put the gun down and learn to play nice. Which Eligius mission were you?” Clarke asked.

“Well, I guess you’re Clarke. Why are you living in a mountain in a barren wasteland instead of the only green patch we could see on the planet?” the woman, the Colonel, Clarke thinks asked.

“Another group of people live there, the people of the Kongeda, the people who survived and adapted to the increased radiation and the new reality after the first apocalypse caused by the launch of all the bombs; a group of people mainly made up of people who survived by living on the space station that you ignored live in the place formerly known as Area 51, we call it Areasi; and there’s us, people who have made their home here made up of a mixture of the other two plus people who survived by living in bunkers. Now we’re always open to having new friends join us, but the key principle by which we live is to treat everyone with respect. If you can’t do that then good luck with the other options. Now, you’ve landed in what used to be Camp David, you, Colonel, the pilot, plus one other, but not the trigger happy asshole leave your ship, unarmed with your hands raised. A truck will be there shortly to bring you to us. We’ll give you some food and water while we run some blood tests to make sure you’re not carrying anything that could harm us, and by the way we’ll ask you to strip to your underwear and don some of our clothes for the same reason. When we get the all clear from the mas spec we come and talk nicely about how we can help each other. Anyone who could come into contact with you will be wearing a hazmat suit until we know it’s safe. We’ll speak again shortly, in the meantime think about what you really want from your return to Earth and what you’re prepared to give to attain it. As long as we’re both reasonable we should be able to make everyone happy. See you soon, Colonel.”

The live feed continued. It seemed that the trigger happy asshole didn’t learn.

“As soon as the doors open we take the blasters and blow the hell out of whoever comes” he said. “That will teach little miss bitch that we don’t take orders.”

“You do take orders, McCreary, you take mine” the Colonel said. “We do what she said and play nice. Think about what she said idiot: they want to carry out blood tests to make sure we’re not carrying anything that’s contagious, sensible of them. That means, idiot, that they have medical facilities. Do you want to mess up possibly the only chance you have to be cured?”

On hearing this, Clarke asked Raven to down load the medical files. They were interesting, but appalling. Most of the miners had chronic metal cancer. She immediately asked Jackson to look at the files and make a recommendation when he can.

Clarke was relieved that the Colonel appeared to be sensible despite thinking that it was okay to land in the middle of a small patch of habitable land, doing who knows what damage to the surroundings in the meantime.

“We don’t know that they will be able to cure us so it might be for nothing” McCreary grumbled. “We should have a contingency plan so that if we die anyway we take some of these bastards with us, especially little miss bitch. I really want to have some fun with her before I kill her.”

The Colonel shook her head in exasperation. Clarke was betting that she had already worked out that they were listening in. “McCreary, if you, or any of your little dick friends, do anything to mess this up for the rest of my people I will not be happy. And I would bet that in a fair fight, Clarke could kick your ass, and if she couldn’t, no doubt she has people who could. Shaw, get ready to go, and get Razor to go with us: remember, unarmed and make sure that Razor knows that.”

The pilot, Shaw, got up from his seat and left the bridge. The Colonel turned her back to where the camera was and clearly gesticulated to McCreary without saying anything the mic could pick up. McCreary looked in the direction of the camera, no doubt ready to carry out some damage.

“The truck is nearly there” Clarke spoke through the mic to derail McCreary’s actions. “The three leaving should make their way to the exit. No others should leave at this stage. Once the truck team are satisfied that only three are outside the ship, the door will close again. If more than three leave, the door will close and the Colonel, plus Shaw plus one other will live, the other, or others, will be shot. For everyone we kill because you couldn’t follow simple instructions, McCreary will receive a knife wound unless he is shot in which case I’ll select another. The last knife wound I inflicted was to slice open someone’s femoral artery so that they bled to death. I could make it nice and slow – such fun. Not nearly as much fun as publically castrating someone and cutting off their testicles, but you grab the kicks where you can, eh? See you in a bit Colonel.”

McCreary did appear to be derailed from his plans as he stormed away from the Bridge. Clarke asked Raven to use the internal cameras to follow McCreary because didn’t trust him as far as she could throw him with one hand tied. As Raven tracked McCreary it was clear he didn’t realise that he was being watched because they saw him grab another woman,  
“Tell the others, we take control in ten” he said to her.

Clarke waited until she was informed that the three were in the truck then asked that the radio be passed to the Colonel.

“McCreary is telling people that they will take control in ten, that was six minutes ago. What is your preference for what we do?” Clarke asked.

“If you can make sure that he really can’t take control of the ship, watch and wait, if you’re not able to stop him, bomb it because he will wipe you off the face of the Earth if he can. He has access to the weapons that can blow a ruddy great hole in the hull rendering it useless anyway” the Colonel suggested.

Clarke asked Raven if she could gas them all, put them to sleep.

“No, not in sufficient time” Raven declared.

Clarke thought for a second and decided it was worth the risk since she didn’t want to have to kill everyone if she didn’t have to. She told Raven to patch her through to speak to everyone on the drop ship. “People of the Eligius ship” she spoke, “shortly the door will open once more and you may all step outside. You will see that the landscape is harsh and barren so don’t wonder too far from your ship or you may get lost and dehydrated. When we are sure that your Colonel and her team are safe we will discuss with her how we may best help you. I know that some of you are sick; very sick. If it is possible to help you we will, unless you try to take over the ship or attack each other. You will gain nothing from forcibly trying to take control of the ship, but you will lose everything. The doors will now be opened, please go and breathe some fresh air. We will get back to you as soon as we can, after we have spoken with your Colonel.”

Clarke indicated to Raven to open the ship doors, keep open any room doors, but not the armoury doors and then power down the ship. She hoped that McCreary didn’t already have the weapons that could damage the ship since it could be the best way to get the people down from the Arc.

The drones were deployed since the ship’s cameras couldn’t be used once it was powered down. The pictures were not pretty: two men had weapons that seemed to incinerate the person they hit, and whatever was beside them. The ship was already damaged beyond repair and the men with the weapons just seemed to enjoy destroying things. Clarke told Raven to send the missile, record the drones’ view, but try to keep the drones safe. “And hopefully enough of the ‘good guys’ have got far enough away that they don’t die in the blast.”

Raven took a deep breath and programmed the computer to send the least powerful missile they had control over to destroy the drop ship. “I need you to input your pass code” Raven said defeatedly.

Clarke took a deep breath of her own before she input her launch security code. 

They watched on the screen as two men continued to shoot anything that moved. She could see that some people had either been shot with a conventional weapon or were laying down, playing dead in the hope that they were left alone.

While Clarke and Raven were watching the carnage take place, Maya called and told Clarke “the Colonel is pregnant, four to five months; the pilot is completely healthy, but curious; and the other man is very sick, cancer. They wouldn’t give their names, but they were very compliant.”

Still watching the screen, Clarke suggested that Maya asks Bellamy to entertain the pilot in the garage, see if he can get anything worthwhile from him; take the sick one to the med bay to run all the tests possible to discover the extent of the cancer; and bring the Colonel to the Control Room. “Let her know what’s happening so that she can object if she wishes” Clarke suggested.

The Colonel didn’t object to anything. She did, however, ask when she could have her book back. Clarke raised a brow and nodded to the screen so that the Colonel could see what was happening with her crew and the end of the drop ship as the missile landed.

When the smoke cleared and they once again had visual on the area around the ship, Clarke, Raven and the Colonel could see that those closest to the ship had no chance, including at least one of the men who were shooting to kill and destroy.

Clarke got on the radio to David Miller and told him to take a team to try to find survivors “Use tranques on them all until we are able to determine exactly who did what. I’ll tell Jackson what to expect in med bay. If needed, to keep our people safe, shoot to kill, otherwise defence only” Clarke finished. She gave the Colonel a quick once over and turned to Raven “Show the Colonel everything we have recorded since she left the Bridge. I need to help in medical. We need to be able to separate the good guys from the bad and consider appropriate penalties: we don’t like the death penalty here, we don’t impose it, but we will offer it as an alternative if the guilty party doesn’t like what their punishment is. They are your people, though, not ours and none of ours have been hurt - so far - so it is up to you; just know that if you want any of them dead, you will have to do it. I’ll send in Echo.” Clarke left for the med bay.

Fourteen of the Eligius crew left at the ship were still alive, unfortunately that included McCreary. He had a shrapnel wound that didn’t take much work to patch up, Jackson and Clarke even agreed that Maya could do the stitches, as long as she didn’t take too much time or make them all nice and neat.

The Colonel said that she would prefer not to execute any of her people, but some did need to be taught hard lessons and asked if Clarke had any suggestions. Clarke insisted that, first, everyone had to be properly introduced so that she and others would know how to address them.

“My name is Charmaine Diyoza, I prefer to be addressed as Diyoza. I prefer that the others introduce themselves so that they can tell you what they want you to call them.”

“Fair enough” Clarke agreed. “What pre-natal care have you received, so far? We can’t find anything on the records that we down loaded to indicate that you received any.”

“I haven’t received any. I made damn sure that no one knew I was pregnant or they would have made me abort. I would have been allowed to go to term once I reached 24 weeks” Diyoza replied, completely ignoring the comment about down loaded records.

“Okay, so perhaps for a first check-up you should see Jackson, wait until tomorrow so he is rested, after that, unless there are any problems, Maya is our best for pre and post-natal care. Maya has this way about her that just helps everyone relax, including the babies. 

“The cancers are different. We might not be able to save them all. Vinson has a brain tumour that is inoperable. Even if we were able to cure the cancer, we won’t be able to correct the damage done to his brain: he will never get better, and every time he receives an electrical jolt, it shortens his life. It’s impossible to say which would kill him first, the cancer if left unabated or the tumour. We will talk to him when he is conscious to ask what he wishes us to do.

“For the others, we are going to recommend they agree to an experimental treatment that we think may work: we want to replace as much of the contaminated blood as possible, we think drain two pints from the left leg, transfuse two pints in the right arm. Drain two pints from the right leg, transfuse two into the left arm and repeat at least twice. We then want to carry out a dialysis to try to remove any remaining contaminants. The only thing we can do after that is a bone marrow transplant. Like I said, experimental, it might not work, it might give them more time, it might cure them; but it’s all we can do since we have never had to deal with this type of cancer before, sorry” Clarke finished.

Diyoza rubbed her burgeoning belly and sighed. “When I staged the coup on the ship I hoped that we would be returning to a better Earth. An Earth where we could find a safe home, a place to fit in and be happy instead it looked like there was nothing; like we had gone through everything for nothing. I want my child to be able to grow up and be safe, be happy. He or she won’t be able to if McCreary and any of his people are around. I don’t want to have to execute them, but I will if there is no other solution that will keep my child safe.”

“I note that none of the women have the cancer. It is possible that none of those with it will survive. While I talk to them about their options, you work out which ones you can trust so that we can talk options for the rest. I do have an idea for what to do with McCreary but it requires the assistance of someone else and I need to check that she will play ball. A group of us have to travel to Eden to attend a wedding – and by the way, if you had landed where you planned you would have started a war that would have seen all of your people, including you and your baby, wiped out along with the majority of the others who live there. I think you should come to learn about the people who grew from what remained after all the nuclear bombs were set off. I’ll ask Costia to give you an overview of them, it’s her wedding to the Commander that we’re attending; and Don to give you an overview of Areasi. Monty can tell you about what’s happened and is happening with Europe and the Arc and why I’m pissed that your ship was destroyed.”

Vinson said that he didn’t want his cancer treated since it seemed like a lot of effort only to die anyway. The others were grateful for the chance, well, McCreary wasn’t exactly grateful: he demanded to know when they were going to start.

Roan and Diyoza got on very well - they admired each other’s scars. At first Clarke was a little worried: did Diyoza want her man? The answer was clearly that Diyoza wouldn’t mind a man just like Roan but she wasn’t going to even try to poach a man who was already taken.

The Commander was agreeable to more from Mt Orlan attending the celebration of her bonding with Costia and for Hermione to stay to learn about the people of the Kongeda. “She is from Europe so she speaks French” Clarke informed the Commander. “We are gradually teaching her to speak our language, and she already has some phrases and words since there are others in Europe who also speak it, but I’m afraid I don’t want to over load her by teaching her your language at the same time. If you do happen to think that there might be an area that she could work in for us, let me know, otherwise she might turn out to be a bit of a dead weight unless you want us to start having formal ambassadors?”

“I think, Wanheda, that I would prefer that contact be between us two direct rather than a third party” the Commander replied.

“I do, too, Commander. I’m sure I’ll think of something to do with her, and the others who will be coming to join us eventually. At least the other one here now is easy to place” Clarke semi grumbled; but she also preferred that there was direct contact between her and the Commander rather than everything being relayed through ambassadors.

Octavia and Lincoln returned with the horses, who all seemed to be glad to be back home, and had two days’ of rest before they had to leave the mountain for the trek to Eden.

Kaylar, Raven and Echo had worked together to design and make crowns for Roan and Clarke; Aurora had worked with Jass and Luna to design and make ceremonial clothing, including cloaks, to wear to the bonding ceremony of Lexa, the Commander of the Kongeda to Costia, of Trikru who would forswear her allegiance to Trikru to pledge to put the Commander first and then the whole of the Kongeda. It was to be a magnificent occasion calling for full majesterial dress and honour. 

The King and Queen were accompanied by Luna, Raven, Octavia, Lincoln, Echo, the personal Guards for the Prince and Princess, Hermione, Diyoza, assorted guards as well as Jake and Ash; and the bride, Costia, who wanted Maya to be one of her attendants so had Jasper and Maya with her.

Roan, Luna and Costia all agreed that even though they would face most of the journey by vehicle, they and their guard would need to ride into Eden which meant that they had to take horses and travel slower than they would do otherwise. It wouldn’t do for any of the Kongeda to think that Clarke or Roan were lacking in any way so they had to demonstrate their strength and leadership the grounder way, but add their own touch with the vehicles for some of their entourage. The Guard were armed with swords, knives and shock batons. Both Clarke and Roan knew that Miller also had a handgun secreted in his back pack but it was hoped that it was not needed. Echo carried a bow and some arrows and Harper a Raven adapted bow with aluminium arrows. There was also the addition of Roan’s arm blade which was an added weapon.

When they were in sight of Eden, the horses were prepared, Roan and Clarke put on their cloaks and swords and they and the Guard, plus Costia mounted and led the entourage into Eden. Raven made sure that they knew exactly where to enter to take the clear path to Heda’s Central. As expected they were met and were ordered to leave their guns behind.

“Miller, please give your gun to this guard. Keep the bullets so it can’t accidently be fired” Clarke instructed.

Miller dismounted and pulled a gun from its holster and emptied the chambers. He passed it to the guard and told him to wait because he had another in his luggage. Miller did the same with the one in his luggage.

On being pressed about other members of the Royal Guard carrying fayaguns, Clarke insisted that only those trained in the use of them were allowed to carry them at all. She then apologised and called “Harper, do you have a gun with you?”

“No, just my bow and arrows” she called. 

Clarke had wanted to leave Harper behind because of her broken foot, but she was informed that there would be an archery competition and Harper was their best so she had to come. 

The guard allowed them to pass and they could feel the stares of all the people hiding in the trees, watching, analysing, judging.

They reached Heda’s Cental and were greeted by Titus. Costia wasted no time in leaping from her horse and calling for Lexa. Clarke gave Titus the stare as he glared at Costia for her lack of decorum: something that the Commander didn’t seemed to mind as she ran to her love to hold her.

After a couple of minutes of Lexa and Costia being all lovey dovey; Clarke and Roan smirking at each other; Titus grimacing as he witnessed the spectacle and other people smiling indulgently; the Commander brought herself to greeting her esteemed visitors.

“Wanheda, Queen Clarke and King Roan from Mt Orlan of the Northernkru, I, Lexa, Commander of the Kongeda welcome you and your party to Eden. I thank you for your care of my chosen and for all that you have taught her. Will you please introduce me to the newest members of your clan?” the Commander asked.

Clarke nodded to the rover and out stepped Hermione and Diyoza, a visibly pregnant Diyoza.

The Commander was almost charming to Hermione, and congratulated Diyoza on the impending birth. She then turned to Clarke and Roan and said “I am sorry for not being clear, and I am pleased to meet Hermione and Diyoza but I was actually referring to the Prince and Princess.”

Clarke and Roan smiled and indicated to Echo that the Royal guard should bring out Jake and Ash to meet the Commander.

Ash, naturally, did nothing but lie in Clarke’s arms and sleep, but Jake proved that he is his father’s son by holding out his hand to the Commander and saying “You pretty like Costia”.

The Commander smiled gently at the youngster and told him that no one was prettier than Costia. But Jake insisted that “Mama prettiest” while the Commander replied that she loved Costia so much that she doesn’t notice how pretty anyone else is. Jake beamed his approval at the Commander for such sincerity.

The Commander was telling Clarke and Roan that they had accommodations prepared for them so that they may freshen up before meeting the guests from Areasi when a strident voice could be heard: “You have no right to prevent me from seeing my daughter!”

The muttered, impatient, reply was not audible. Clarke turned to the Commander “May I?”

“Allow Wanheda Queen Clarke’s Abby through” the Commander said, carefully not acknowledging Abby’s status as mother.

“Clarke, thank goodness you’re here” Abby said. “These, these people were preventing me from seeing you! What’s wrong?”

Clarke raised a haughty brow to her mother and replied “Why would you think there was anything wrong? The Commander had just been introduced to our newest people and had very kindly informed us that we would be shown to our quarters and allowed to freshen up before being meeting her other guests. I should have realised that you would not allow us that curtesy before barging in and being rude to our hosts. Please excuse us, mother, we shall see you after we have the chance to do as the Commander so thoughtfully suggested.”

Those who knew Clarke and about her relationship with Abby smirked at Clarke’s put down, others just looked shocked. Abby looked incensed, a look that Clarke was very familiar with and refused to let it bother her anymore.

Luna chose that moment to step into the fray. “Commander, it is my great pleasure to be here to witness this historic and long awaited event.”

“Luna, my dear friend, thank you. None of this would have been possible without the courage and wisdom of you and Wanheda, Queen Clarke.”

Roan decided he didn’t like to be ignored and coughed to remind others of his presence.

“And I must not forget all that King Roan sacrificed, too. I am grateful to all of my friends from Northernkru. Now, I shall take Costia away while Titus will lead you to your accommodations. He can point out where the Areasians are staying so that you may make your own way there once you are ready, if you wish to, that is. You are very welcome to wander around Heda’s Central and I know other clans would offer to guide you through their territory if you wish, but perhaps leave that for another day.”

Abby tried to attach herself to Clarke but the Royal Guard surrounded her and Roan. Titus pointed out the house where the Areasians were staying and Clarke could see Wells waving though one of the windows; she smiled and gave a quick nod.

“Mother, we will see you later” Clarke said in clear dismissal.

Waiting for the Northerners at the house was Aiden. He told them that the house they were staying in was used by the novitiates who all deemed it a great honour to be the servants of their great allies, the people of Northernkru, especially Wanheda Queen Clarke, King Roan and the Commander’s dear friend, Luna. All this was said within the hearing of Titus who looked as though he had sucked on a lemon. It was Titus’s house that had been surrendered to the Areasians for their stay. Titus was staying with the Commander and Costia, while the novitiates were camping: “We have become too used to our home comforts and the Commander was planning on us having to rough it for a while, this is just the first step” Aiden said with a grin.

Knowing ahead who was coming and all the various relationships, Aiden showed everyone to the room he suggested would be most appropriate for them. He apologised to those who were required to share but he knew that there would be no issues since Northernkru were well known to be co-operative.

Clarke was very happy to see some bowls of water waiting in the room allotted to her and Roan so that they could carry out a quick strip wash to help clean the grubbiness of the journey. Jake was not impressed at having to be cleaned instead of being allowed to go and explore. 

There were no children of the same age as Jake so he was practically worshiped by all of the Kongeda with whom they came into contact. He did enjoy being treated like a prince until he asked Gordon, his guard, why his gan’ma was cross?

“Because she doesn’t like that she is not the most important person here” Gordon replied.

“Mama and nontu ‘portant” Jake declared as if daring Gordon to disagree.

“Yes they are” Gordon agreed. “Here, only the Commander is more important. At home, no one is. But even if they are not important, you should still be very respectful to them.”

“Nor’kru ‘spect ev’one” Jake pronounced.

“And that is a very good thing to do” an unknown voice said behind them, Gordon instantly on his guard.

“Unca ‘Ells!” Jake screeched and ran to greet his radio hero. “You go wedding?”

“Yes, I am here for the wedding, too. The Commander and I play chess so she thinks of me as one of her friends and asked me especially to attend. Your grandma is here to represent the people of Areasi.”

“Gan’ma cross she not ‘portant” Jake gave the information as solemnly as if imparting a state secret.

Wells could only agree.

Clarke and Roan only went to see Abby. When asked, everyone else was keen to find something else to do. Diyoza did say she would like to meet the Areasians later but first she wished to rest. 

The meeting did not go well: Abby could not see that her behaviour was cause of offence.

“These savages were keeping me from you!” Abby cried. “How can that be me offending them?”

“Because they were not keeping you from us, they were being considerate and you spoke to them, and about them, in such a way that it makes it clear that that is exactly how you see them, savages, and you wonder why they, and we, are offended by you. Who thought it would be a good idea to send you on a diplomatic visit? They must have marbles in their brains” Clarke was scathing.

“Why would you be offended?” Abby was puzzled.

“These people are my friends, some very close friends, and allies. Many of my people were part of their culture, including my husband: how could I not be offended, and embarrassed by the rudeness exhibited by my mother?” Clarke was exasperated.

“Well if they hadn’t kept me from you …”

“Do you not hear anything I say? They did not keep you from me! They were trying to be considerate of the fact that we had spent days on the trail and offered us a chance to freshen up a little before seeing others. Why could you not be as considerate; or does nobodies’ feelings matter except yours? If you couldn’t be polite, why bother coming. Let me know when you are willing to apologise to the Commander” and Clarke led a sternly amused Roan back to their accommodation.

Clarke asked Luna if she thought she could be patient enough to go and talk to Abby about the protocol she would be expected to observe during her stay here.

“I can be as patient as you need me to be” Luna agreed.

Clarke might not have been so relieved if she had heard Luna tell Abby that as a favour to Clarke, Luna would advise Dr Griffin how she is expected to behave while in Eden so that she doesn’t embarrass Clarke, herself, and all of Areasi, with another display of such blatant disrespect.

Wells was thrilled to see his friends again. He confided in Aiden that he would not be returning to Areasi with Abby and the two guards. Together they went to talk to Clarke and Roan so that they could plan the best way to arrange it so there would be no fallout from Areasi with the Kongeda. Wells gave Clarke all the rest of his personal belongings except for those he would need during the festivities. Aiden said that as his belongings were cleaned, he would arrange for them to ‘accidentally’ be given to Clarke so that when it came time to leave, all he would have to do is to walk away with what he was wearing.

The bonding ceremony between the Commander and Lexa was a magnificent, solemn occasion. The party afterwards was a blast. Titus somehow managed to swallow his pride and sound like he was happy to oversee the event.

Clarke introduced Anya and Diyoza and explained her idea for McCreary. Anya was happy to oblige her good friend and promised to send him back chastened and obedient, or not at all. Anya and Diyoza spent the rest of the night together and Clarke never thought to ask about it further.

Because she was breast feeding, Clarke was one of the few to abstain from the very excellent wine. Clarke thought it was a good job that they would be staying for one further day so that no one had to ride or drive while nursing a hangover!

The Commander took the opportunity to have a private word with Clarke, mainly to thank her for her part in getting Titus to publicly agree to perform the bonding ceremony and to declare that love can be a strength as well as a weakness. Titus went on to say in the ceremony that he knew the flame gave the Commander the wisdom to know how to use the love she felt for all her people, but especially for Costia, to maintain the strength she needed to carry out her sacred role. He thanked Costia for being an oasis of rest for the Commander – something that Lexa said she never thought she would hear from Titus.

Clarke told the Commander the truth about Hermione’s stay. “I know that I may be imagining things, but I have learned to listen to that inner voice that tells me that something could be wrong.”

The Commander thought for a moment and said that she agreed that it was very possible for there to be some dissatisfaction with the way the land was allocated and that she was grateful for any insight that Hermione could offer.

Abby did not react well when Wells informed her that he was leaving with the Northerners. At first she thought he intended to merely visit and asked what she should tell his father about when he would return.

“I’m not returning, Abby” Wells stated. “I will make my home there and formally pledge my loyalty to Northernkru. The attitude of my father, the guards, and especially you, towards this event brought home to me how very different we are in outlook. I think of the Commander and Aiden as friends: smart, funny, great friends. That you and my father would think of them as savages appals me. I did think about asking if I could live here, but I thought that it would be better for everyone if I asked instead to live in Mt Orlan. I have left a letter for my father in my room.”

It was almost comical when the two Arker guards tried to prevent Wells from leaving with the Northerners. It took Clarke and Luna mere seconds to disable them. Abby was almost shocked to realise that Clarke was able to do that without even blinking.

“Goodbye, mother. May we meet again” Clarke was all business like. 

“Bye, Gan’ma”, Jake was cheerful.

Clarke held on until she was in one of the rovers with Roan’s arms around her to cry: she was convinced that she would never meet her mother again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think Clarke is being too good to Hermione, but it is possible that she thinks that Hermione will take a liking to one of the clans men and decide to relocate!
> 
> Anya and Diyoza or Anya and McCreary? I think Anya could have fun with either of them!


	34. They All Fall Down

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The remaining people on the Arc come to Earth and Jaha is not happy that Wells has left Areasi.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Although marked complete, there will be an epilogue at some point, to wrap up all the loose ends and look at how Northernkru, the Kongeda and the Arkers fair in the year's ahead. Don't know when I will be able to get around to it, though, but I promise that one day it will appear.

The journey back to Mt Orlan could have been fraught with tension but Wells proved to be the eternal diplomat and asked insightful questions that were designed to show how interested he was in the person with whom he was talking, and to keep the conversation flowing. He would base his questions on the people that he didn’t know, and be very self-deprecating about the things he found very difficult. It allowed those who did not know him to see him in his best light and many thought that he would be a welcome addition to the Northerners. Luna settled any doubt that anyone might feel because of who his father is by announcing that the Commander regarded Wells as a good friend, as did Clarke therefore he had to be a good guy, and she reminded everyone that no one held the fact that Clarke was the daughter of Abby against her!

Wells settled into working with Clarke and Roan on strategic planning. Whilst he clearly lacked knowledge about their current capabilities, the questions he raised showed how adept he was at looking at future needs. He wanted to concentrate on preparing for the people to come down from the Arc. 

“Until we know the details of those who wish to make their home with us there is little we can do” Clarke said. “You could talk to Kane about the likely numbers, current abilities and interests; then liaise with Bellamy about where they can all work. I’m not saying this as an order, but I think Vera Kane could be employed as a teacher of crafts, or with Marrietta and Cole in child minding. Bree is in charge of accommodation so you’ll need to check with her about housing everyone. We’ll also need to know if there is anything from Farm Station that we’ll be able to use since we’ll probably have a big increase in numbers. Where possible, we prepare for the worst that could happen, in this case, the worst is that everyone currently on the Arc wants to live with us. We have to make sure that we can feed them immediately and in the longer term. Liaise with Hannah and Zoe and if there’s going to be problems, call a meeting and we can brain storm possible solutions.”

Wells took the words of wisdom to heart and got to planning for the fall of the Arc and took the opportunity to work with all the heads of the various departments to ensure that everyone could be fed, housed, clothed and employed.

Don said that he spoke with his people in Areasi: they had bugged some rooms and discovered that Jaha intended not to let the others leave Areasi unless Wells was handed over. It was not a surprise to Clarke. She would need to engage in a little stealth if she was to succeed in getting at least the original Areasians out if not any Arkers who wished to move to Mt Orlan.

“From what I heard and saw, the ones who were even open to the possibility of moving here were at best ambivalent about it” Don said. “They said that it was a big enough change coming to Earth without having to add a completely different way of living to the mix. In theory, most thought your way of leading was great, but they didn’t know if it could work out in the long term and so were wary of burning bridges that they might want to cross back if they chose to try the experiment. Wells would know best, but I’m pretty sure you won’t get any more takers.”

In a way Clarke was relieved because it meant one less problem to have to overcome. Don’s people didn’t mix overly much with the Arkers so it would be relatively easy to plot with them provided their conversations weren’t listened to. 

“Do any of your people speak any trig?” Clarke asked: it would make it so much easier if at least one of them did.

“A few speak a few words or phrases; why?”

“It will be easier to plan if the Arkers don’t know what we’re talking about” Clarke replied. Is there another way out of the bunker other than the main entrance, preferably one that’s miles away?”

“There is a service shaft that comes out about five clicks north, north east. They’ll have to climb” Don said.

“Then in that case during your next radio conversation with someone, tell them they’ll need to start getting fit for when they come here since everyone has to carry out some of the physical work as well as the intellectual. Also, casually mention that trig is often spoken here so ask if they want to have lessons over the radio. I’ll radio Jaha as if I think nothing is wrong and ask if he has any idea if any Arkers there wish to move here when we bring the rest of his people to him. I’ll suggest to him that if there are some that want to move, we could begin to talk over the radio to try to work out what department they will be placed in.”

“Do you think that will fool him?”

“Thelonious Jaha is very arrogant and hears what he wants to hear, believes what he is told if it reflects well on him, thinks I’m nothing more than an insubordinate child: he will believe that I am naïve enough to think that he will keep his word. Until it all hits the fan, that’s the image I want to project.”

Clarke was correct: Jaha did think that Clarke believed that when the time came he would hand over all the people who wanted to move to Mt Orlan. He was very regretful that the people of the Arc thought that Clarke’s way of living was a utopian ideal, but not practical in the long run, and wished to continue to live under the protection that the experience of the Council gave them.

“That’s good” Clarke agreed. “I think it is important that people live where they feel safe and if they feel safer living there with you then that is definitely where they should stay. Do you wish to set up formal trade deals with us? I expect that at the moment there is nothing that we wish to trade, but perhaps one day we will need to; or would you rather we just keep being friendly and deal with things on an ad hoc basis?”

Jaha pretended to think for a while before saying “I think you’re right: we don’t need to trade at the moment, but we can’t say for sure that will always be the case. I suggest that we keep things friendly and deal with any issues that crop up in a flexible, ad hoc basis” as if it was his idea and not a repeat of something Clarke had just offered.

“Okay, speak to you again soon, Theo.”

“That’s Chancellor to you, Clarke” Jaha was stern.

“I thought we were being informal” Clarke retorted; “but never mind: then it must be ‘Your Majesty’ when speaking to me, or ‘Wanheda’” Clarke was not to be denigrated.

“Good bye” Jaha returned with no form of address.

“Clarke we have a problem; a big one” Kane said on the radio. “There’s a meteor shower headed our way and we have no way of avoiding it. We can’t move far enough away and we don’t have the resources to make the likely necessary repairs.”

“Can you get everyone into the strongest station? Pack up what you can and come down now?” Clarke asked.

“I don’t think we have any choice. Another problem, someone will have to stay here in the GoSci to release the stations” Kane added.

“That’s okay” Clarke reassured. “Make sure that whoever stays has enough supplies to survive for a while – oxygen, water, food; and we’ll find a way to get them down.”

Kane looked like he thought Clarke was telling a comforting falsehood. “I promise, Marcus; we will get them down, I just don’t know how long it will take Raven to prepare the rocket but I’ll get her started on that straight away. I’ll rally the troops to get ready to come and help you once you land, you prepare to leave. If possible, have the person staying in the GoSci release only the station you’re leaving in at first so we know which target, or targets, to head for. The others can be released a short while later. Hopefully we’ll be able to maintain radio contact. You go prepare our people, but Marcus, no guns” Clarke was emphatic on the last point.

“There are none left” Kane said sadly. “The Chancellor took them all on the drop ships. May we meet again, Clarke.”

Clarke notified everyone about what was happening. The youngsters were mobilised to attend group activities that would end in a giant camp out – something they all seemed to enjoy; while the adults who were not child minding were geared up to prepare for mass casualties and the feeding and comforting of the injury free survivors.

Wells was shocked when he saw how everyone was ready to pull together for this: no one seemed to think that it had nothing to do with them so that they should just stay out of it. He saw people moving out of their accommodation and into a communal bunk without a murmur of complaint; he saw the kitchen staff who had just gone off duty return to help prepare more food; he saw the vehicles being brought into the open with medical equipment being loaded onto them; horses were saddled up and trailers attached for them to pull. Then it seemed that everyone was as ready as they could be and they stood and watched the sky, waiting.

To Wells the wait felt endless, but it was mere minutes before they heard the crack of a large object entering the atmosphere. It was coming down fast, too fast not to break up and burn before it even hit the ground, Wells was sure. But he was wrong.

As everyone watched the trajectory of the falling station, Clarke called those riding the horses to mount up and for everyone else to get in the vehicles. Those staying behind were to prepare to receive the first wave of wounded.

They headed out toward the area that in a previous life was called Arkadia: Mecha Station was the one that was chosen to fall. The sound of the crash reverberated around them all, making some wonder if anyone could survive.

There were many people, some holding cloths to wounds on either themselves or others, mostly just sitting on the ground in shock. Clarke couldn’t tell if it was shock that they were alive and on the ground, or shock that they didn’t get to just walk away.

“Shaw, Echo; get your team and set up the First Aid point for the walking wounded” Clarke called. “Give them clean pads, tea and comforting words. Lincoln, you are in charge of triage: get your team to help separating those needing quicker care into immediate surgery, immediate other and final care. Octavia, Luna, Jass, Wells, Monroe, follow Lincoln’s instructions.” Clarke knew that Luna and Monroe would be the ones to offer the comfort to those who could not be saved, the others named would offer immediate help and send a runner to find her or Roan. “Everyone else, lead the people out of the station so that we can deal with the injured without others unintentionally hindering. Stay with a group of around ten to talk to them, and offer refreshments and what information you can. Nate and Miller, try to take any weapons you find and secure them.” The drivers were staying in the trucks ready to take seriously injured straight to the med bay where Jackson, Maya and Molly awaited them.

Four people were dead before the Northerners arrived: two of them died because they tried to move when they should have stayed still. No one needed final care although there were a few that some thought would require it.

“I need a sharp blade to cut the leg off and a hot blade to cauterize the stump” Clarke said on seeing one man that the Arkers thought was a gonner. Part of the wall had fallen on his leg and they didn’t have the ability to remove the debris before he bled out. To help, Clarke set up an I.V. with blood; gave him a sedative; got some people to hold him down and told Roan where to slice the leg through so that she could cauterize the wound before he lost more blood. He would be the first to be taken to Mt Orlan and to Jackson.

There was a number of broken bones, some cuts requiring stitches and a few concussions, most were not worrying and would just need time to heal; but one was unconscious and Clarke couldn’t tell if it was serious. Her pupils reacted to light, which was a good sign, but there was no reaction to pain, which was not a good sign. She would be the second one taken to Mt Orlan.

The most serious was one that would die unless they were very lucky: a rail had partly come away from a wall and Joseph Morgan, the oldest person to live on the Arc, was impaled upon it.

“If you can find a way to get me outside to breathe the fresh pure air, I’ll die a happy man” Joseph said.

“We’ll get you outside to breathe the fresh air, but I’d rather you didn’t die just yet since it will ruin my reputation” Clarke said. “It is not going to be easy, and you might not remember your first breath on Earth since I’m going to dose you up with pain killers; but if you fight, and let me and my team do all they can, we’ll get you see, smell, feel and hear sounds that you never thought possible: deal?”

“You really think you can do that, young ‘un? You barely look old enough to hold a scalpel let alone actually know what to do with it” Joseph snarked.

Those who know about Clarke’s prowess with a scalpel gave a half hearted laugh.

“You’re still breathing, you’ve not lost a lot of blood, and we have lots of strong people ready and able to do exactly what I tell them. We can get you out of here with that rail still inside you so we can remove it safely back in our state of the art med bay. And in Mt Orlan, there are no limits to any medical supplies so you don’t need to worry about a thing except breathing, and imagining showing everyone your slightly impressive scars at the end of it” Clarke reassured.

“Okay, but you make sure my scar is very impressive, not slightly!”

Clarke injected Joseph with enough pain killer to knock him out; gave instructions for an adaptation being made to a stretcher so that the rail could stick through it. Next, the rail had to be detached from the wall and safely cut to allow for patient transportation. By the time they were ready to transport Joseph, the first truck had returned from Mt Orlan so that he could be taken there with Clarke. 

Marcus was amazed at how well they survived the fall: four dead was bad, but not as bad as he feared it would be. Only now they were on the ground did he admit to himself that he thought that Clarke was talking out of her backside when she told them how to get down. It made him wonder if Liza would be safe up in the GoSci until she could be somehow brought down after all. Perhaps they would get to meet again and have the chance to explore what might be between them.

Vera was wandering around, holding the tree, telling everyone that they were blessed and soon they would be able to plant their tree in the Earth just like they had always planned. It was Jass who saw Vera wander away from where everyone was congregating and went to intercept her.

“M’am, hello, my name is Jass. May I show you back to your people so that no one fears that they have lost you?”

“Hello, young lady. Jass: that’s a lovely name. My name is Vera Kane; Marcus is my son; do you know where he is?”

“I’m sorry, Vera, but I don’t know who Marcus is: but I do know who will know. Shall we find them so that we can ask? Is that tree special to you? I don’t think we have any like it with us at Mt Orlan.”

Vera explained to Jass the significance of the tree to the people of the Arc. Jass thought it was very sad that these people had been reduced to pouring all their adoration onto one measly tree when they at least had the opportunity to take the many trees for granted. ‘No more, though’ she thought; ‘we can’t take them for granted any more’ and she watched as the other pieces of this people’s former home crashed to the ground – one piece, she could tell, landing in her former home of Azgeda.

It didn’t seem like any time at all before everyone had been transported from the crash site to Mt Orlan and assigned housing, even though in some cases it was a little cramped and temporary. The more permanent housing had been assigned to those who had already declared that they would be staying with the Northerners.

The day after the crash, Marcus Kane oversaw a burial of those who had died. It was a short, well attended ceremony even though most could not find themselves to feel too sad since only four had died and they were still celebrating the fact that they were alive.

Personal belongings had been recovered and handed over to the individuals and those belonging to the four who died had been given to Fox to place with the other recyclables.

Liza reported that she was still alive and well but that the ring had sustained damage from the meteor shower and was losing oxygen. She thought that with the supplies, and confining herself into one room, she could survive for about 14 to 20 days. She did say, however, that the large Eligius ship had been struck and looked like it would now be out of commission. That put a dent in Clarke and Raven’s plan for retrieving Liza.

“Will there be hydrazine that we can recover?” Clarke asked Diyoza.

“Unless the ship blew up, yes” Diyoza said. “You should go up with Shaw to help transport it.”

Raven had thought of going up alone, but she could see the sense of Diyoza’s suggestion: not only could Shaw help with the actual transportation, he would know where it was stored which would save time looking if the computer systems were down. It would mean that they would need to make minor adjustments to the pod to seat three, but it was better than the adjustments she had to make last time to seat eight.

Ten days after the Arc fell to Earth, Raven steered Becca’s rocket through a ruddy great hole in the hull of the Eligius IV ship. The ship was dead and they would have to do everything manually. As well as topping up their fuel supply, they also topped up their oxygen since they had to spend more time in the ship than they were prepared for. Raven was glad that she had agreed to bring Shaw with her.

While Raven was refuelling the rocket, Shaw went through the ship to grab as much as he could that he thought would be useful on the ground. There was no way he could see that they would ever be able to make sufficient repairs that they would be able to bring it to ground. They were lucky that those still in cryo did not know what had hit them. The last thing they did while on the ship was to programme the space rover to land near Mt Orlan and send it on its way.

“I heard about crossing the Atlantic” Shaw said. “This might be a better way of crossing rough terrain if needed again.”

Raven thought it was an excellent idea and wished they had it at the time of the crossing.

Liza was a mess, a very grateful mess. They wasted no time in getting her hydrated, calm and into her space suit. Taking her few personal possessions with them, the three left the GoSci ring to the same fate as the Eligius ship.

The people from the Arc had been on Earth for one complete lunar cycle (except for Liza, of-course) and even those who had been severely injured were well enough to be able to get about. They were called to a meeting.

“We need to know for sure who wishes to be taken to Areasi to join up with Jaha and the Council and who wishes to pledge their loyalty to us, Northernkru” Bellamy began. “We would like to take those moving to Areasi in the near future so we can bring back the rest of our people. Any who are still undecided, please raise your hand.”

Three people, who were sitting together, raised their hands.

“Okay, you three stay after the meeting so that we can talk in more detail so you have all the information we can give you to help you make your decision” Bellamy looked at them. “Those who wish to be taken to Areasi, please raise your hands.”

Seven people raised their hands. It was fewer than they had thought would want to go. They were told to leave their names with Caron, who raised her hand to let everyone know who she was, so that they could make sure they were notified when the final details of the travel arrangements had been made. They were invited to leave the meeting.

“The main ethos of Northernkru is that everyone is worthy of respect and treated accordingly. If you can’t agree to that then you will probably find that your long term happiness will not lie here. Check the rules and punishments. The most serious offences carry the punishment of banishment” Bellamy said. “You’ve seen what is out there; you won’t like it so if you can’t live by our rules then chose to live in Areasi.”

Bellamy spoke about the type of work that they did and explained that everyone had to do some cleaning work, usually related to the field they were assigned “for example” he said, “Raven works in Engineering. She is Head of Blue Skies, that is the long term strategy projects, but she also has to take her turn in cleaning her lab. Cleaning the general quarters, and the toilets, is a punishment assignment. Senior staff have to do it if there is no one on punishment detail. So far that has only happened for six days” and there were general snorts of laughter. “Thankfully, people can’t seem to stop themselves from breaking the rules so they get a month of punishment detail and we usually have a waiting list. 

“Everyone gets the same pay regardless of their job: all necessities are provided with all adults getting the same rations except for the builders and pregnant women who are allowed more because they need more. If anyone feels they are still hungry, eat an algae bar. They taste disgusting but they are very nutritious. Worn out clothes and shoes etc can be exchanged for better. Basic furniture is provided. If you want more then you have to make it yourself, or find someone to make it for you in their spare time. All adults receive 20 currency units every lunar cycle, and we still haven’t decided what to call it, that can be used to buy sweets and cakes, alcohol, cinema trips, pic-nic baskets, flowers, toys, all sorts of luxuries – and each child receives five currency units to spend.

“We need to formalise our constitution: most of you have seen the discussion paper, if you haven’t, you can find it on your room screen or talk to one of our original people who can help you. We will have a meeting when all our people are here to talk and vote on it. All major changes are voted on and anyone aged 16 or over is eligible to vote provided they are not in detention for a serious crime. Any questions?”

One hand was raised. Bellamy indicated she should speak. “If everyone gets the same pay, what’s the incentive to work hard and progress? I mean, if being a janitor is going to get me the same pay as being a teacher, I would rather just be a janitor and go without the hassle.”

Bellamy smiled at her. “If you are happy to clean then you can be a janitor and clean the common areas except the toilets which will remain punishment detail; or if you have an interest in a specific field then you could work in that department and do most of the cleaning for them, or just be assigned a department that comes with a lot of cleaning. Think about it, to us, cleaning is just as important as anything else – there’s no point in feeding people if they’re going to die of infection because someone didn’t clean their plates properly. We very much want to make sure that everyone does a job that they feel gives them what they need. Everyone must work – no work, no pay, unless you have been given a medical or compassionate exemption.”

The meeting ended with most people happy that they had chosen to stay: two, however, chose to change their mind and go to Areasi. The three who were undecided asked for another day to make their decision.

Peter Colins wanted to speak with Clarke. Peter was one of those who had chosen to move to Areasi and he wanted to explain why.

“Beppi has been my best friend for as long as I can remember” he said. “When he first came down I assumed he had died, we were expecting his death. I couldn’t believe it when I discovered he was still alive. He told me about what you did: not just the experimental bone marrow transplant, but the fact that you were always very kind and respectful of him. Beppi said that in the first days after you landed you were very injured and at no point did you make him feel that he was a burden to you.”

“He wasn’t a burden, he helped us” Clarke interjected.

“And that is what he said you would say. Your mother, well, I hate to say it, but she made him feel that he was just using up precious resources. I don’t like Dr Griffin – an excellent surgeon, no doubt, but a lousy doctor.”

Clarke snorted and offered her agreement.

“But it wasn’t that that impressed me the most” Peter said. “It was the day by the lake. Beppi told me that you didn’t know what would happen if he chose to go ahead with the operation and asked him what he wanted to do in case he didn’t improve – your mother would never have thought to do that. You gave Beppi a day to remember; you and the rest of the delinquents went out of your way to make sure that if Beppi were to die, he would die happy. I see that you still have that attitude; Joseph is stumbling around complaining that you didn’t leave him with a very impressive scar and on top of it all he is expected to help teach the kids about history. Thank you for giving him that; that sense that he was not and is not at death’s door and that he still has something to contribute. I asked Jackson how easy it was to save him and Jackson said that he could only follow your instructions and that your mother would have just let him go, probably not even bother to offer pain medication if I know her, but you saved his life and his sanity.

“I want you to know that if my newly pregnant daughter wasn’t in Areasi, I would ask to stay here: but I need to be where my family is. Leandra and her husband are two of those who like the sound of how you live here but don’t think it’s possible to keep it up once everything has settled down and people revert back to their normal selfish selves and those at the top will be getting more than those at the bottom. They would rather stay where they are, knowing the limited path they have” he sounded sad.

“It brings a form of security” Clarke explained. “They are not at the bottom, and know they are not likely to fall to the bottom so they are secure, they are safe. It is a very powerful feeling, the feeling of security. Most of those living here didn’t feel that before they chose us; many felt like they had nothing to lose so why not?”

Wells was working with Marcus Kane and all the different departments to find homes and employment for all those who fell from the Arc. He was given the task of making sure that the various parts of the fallen stations were stripped of anything useful and was surprised at how much of the wreakages was thought to be useful. He realised how much he didn’t know about repurposing things: for example, he didn’t know that bed frames could be used to make grills to place over open fires that could be traded with Eden; he wouldn’t have been bothered to collect the small pieces of stuffing he found if one member of the team didn’t open a bag to start putting them in: “hey, if I fill this bag, it’s enough for a cushion” he was told. In fact they found enough stuffing from old mattresses to fill at least five cushions from Alpha.

For some reason, Echo had taken to talking to Wells: he didn’t mind, she had a sharp wit and was very interested in his chess matches with the Commander. She asked if Wells would teach her and, of-course, he was happy to oblige.

The time came to take the nine people to Areasi and to collect theirs. Don informed his people to leave by the service shaft, and hide the exit as best they could, in three days’ time. They had to make sure they had all their personal belongings with them as well as water, and to make sure at least one of them had a mirror or glass that they could use to signal their location to the truck that would collect them.

Clarke was not one of those leaving for that journey: the meeting of the senior staff had agreed that they couldn’t risk something going wrong and Jaha taking the opportunity to kidnap her. It was obvious that Wells wanted to say that his father would never do such a thing, but he knew that his father would do anything he thought necessary to get the outcome that he wanted: namely Wells back in Areasi.

The convoy was at the point where they would split to allow one truck, ostensibly carrying nothing but supplies, to peel off to head for the co-ordinates to collect the Areasians from the service shaft; and the others continued towards the main entrance. They stopped when they were just a few miles away for a break. The Arkers had no idea something was going on. 

Dieter radioed Clarke to let her know that they had picked up all their people who were squeezing into the back of the truck to move away from the shaft exit, just in case. Clarke called Jaha on an open signal to let him know that the convoy was almost there and she wanted to check that her people were ready to go.

“I’m afraid that they’re not quite ready” Jaha said. “They’re just finishing up something for me to aid the transfer. Could your people not stay one night here then they could all set off first thing in the morning?”

“That’s strange” Clarke retorted; “the last time I spoke with them they said that you had already taken over everything and they were left with nothing to do but wait to be collected and brought here. They said they were almost at the point of wanting to start walking here they were that bored.”

“Yes, well, rightly or wrongly we left some things to the last minute so they are not quite ready to leave. Your people will have to stay here for a night.”

“Not going to happen. What is really going on, Theo: do try to be honest?”

“I am not letting your people go until you return my son to me” Jaha growled. “Find a way to get Wells to me quickly and your people can be exchanged for my son.”

“No” Clarke was adamant.

Jaha snorted in amusement. “Come on Clarke, we both know that you would not put one person ahead of a dozen, so that’s all you need to do; give me one person, Wells, and you can have all your others. Do we have a deal?” Jaha was so sure that he was in control.

“No. What about your people that are almost there waiting to join you?”

“I don’t care about them. None of them were chosen to come down in the drop ships so they are expendable” Jaha didn’t realise that he spoke on an open signal and that his words were heard by many.

“That’s one of our many differences: none of our people are expendable, and that includes Wells. I’ll ask the team of drivers to drop your people off about an hour’s walk away, if they still want to join you after hearing you describe them as expendable and head back to Mt Orlan.” Clarke took a deep breath and went straight for the jugular: “By the way, Dieter just radioed to say that he’s collected all the Areasians and is heading to meet up with the convoy. Mt Orlan over and out.”

Miller asked how many of the Arkers wanted to be taken closer to Areasi. Five of them did, four wanted to return to Mt Orlan to live. 

“Okay, we’ll use a drone to watch and make sure they let you in. If you’re still up there when the drone heads back in this direction, if you want to change your mind, follow it back to us” Miller offered.

The four and their personal belongings all piled into the back of one rover with Miller driving and Shawn operating the drone. They had just come to the point where they would stop to let out their people when the drone picked up activity from the bunker entrance. Half a dozen guards came out brandishing their guns and fanned out as a not very warm welcome committee. One of the guards spotted the drone and shot at it.

“Sorry, but you’re on your own now” Miller said. “You can see the outline of the buildings in the distance that you need to head for. We’re getting out of here once we’ve collected our injured drone. Best of luck to you all.”

Three of the Arkers exited the rover; the other, Peter Colins, grabbed one of their arms and asked “Tell my Leandra that I love her very, very much, please?”

“Yeah, I’ll do that, Pete. I wish I could do it, but I don’t think I have it in me to change now. Better the devil you know, huh?”

“It was Beppi that convinced me that Clarke was not a devil: he thinks she’s the best thing to ever happen to him, she saved his life, but only because he wanted her to take the chance, not because she wanted to experiment to see if she could do it. Here, take this. Keep it on the hush, hush. Contact Mt Orlan if you need to get out. Clarke gave it to me and said she would come get me if I called. I’m sure she would for anyone else needing help” and Peter handed over a long range, walkie-talkie that would only talk to one other machine. “Only use it if you need to get out.”

With all their people safely home, Northernkru held a memorial for all those who perished in the Death Wave. The people of Eden were invited to send representatives to join in with their memories.

The Commander, Costia, Aiden, representatives of each of the remaining clans (including Anya who was to collect McCreary and return with him as her ‘Trainee’) came and escorted Octavia, Lincoln and Hermione home. The cavalcade, as it approached Mt Orlan, was an impressive sight. Clarke knew that it was designed to look impressive because Octavia had given daily updates on their journey; Costia and Maya had chatted about interesting medical things they had seen and done over the recent past; the Commander and Wells had chatted and continued their current game of chess; Aiden and Don had spent a few minutes talking about getting all the Areasians to Mt Orlan; Lincoln and Roan enjoyed a dry daily catch up chat each day Lincoln was away. Their chats probably lasted no more than a minute, but Clarke knew that Roan was happy after each call with his friend.

The service was held around the Arc tree of life. Bellamy told the story of a few drunken teenagers talking around the fire about the possibility of there being something coming that would destroy the Earth once again, and how they realised they could prepare for it and be ready to give a kick-start to replenish afterwards. He mentioned how it was necessary for all the people to work as one to make it happen. He gave praise to Monty for finding and making contact with Area 51, Areasi, so that thousands could be saved. He praised the sacrifice of those who had shelter in Mt Orlan but gave up their spots so that others, youngsters, could be saved in their stead.

Roan spoke of the sacrifice of Bogdov, and his determination to give order and hope to the people of Azgeda. 

Mbege spoke of those who died in the search for the other bunker that they hoped would save a thousand more people, paying particular attention to the bravery of the Sankru warriors to thesurprise of many who thought he would focus on the Northernkru deaths. 

Luna spoke of the deaths of just about all of her former kru, the unknowing sacrifice to her arrogance and she would never forget what she owed their memories. 

The representatives of each of the former clans spoke about people they knew who had been left to burn in praimfaya. The clans promised that their spirits would be at peace and offered promises that their deaths would not be in vain. 

The Commander spoke in general terms of those who were left behind when the doors to the bunkers were closed: she knew that many were grateful that some would be saved. She expressed her gratitude to Northernkru for sharing their knowledge on how to survive praimfaya so that they may once again thrive as a people. The Commander also gave thanks for the fact that Eden survived the inferno and that her people were able to make a new start, to grow again from the ashes.

Clarke ended the service by talking about all the things they had gained since the death wave. “We have the chance to build a life of peace, real peace; one that is not paid for by someone else. We have friends, great friends and we appreciate all that they give us, even if it is the occasional slap across the head when we need it. 

“Without the death wave, I don’t know if Costia and Maya would become such great friends; or if the Commander would be someone whom I knew I could call if I needed a helping hand; and I know that Berndt and Don, to name but two, who are great people to have with us; assets in both the literal and metaphorical sense would not be part of our lives. None of this would have happened without the death wave so, I am so very, very sorry for all that was lost – both the people and much of nature, but I am also so very grateful for all that we have gained, and all that we have yet to realise.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you have any ends you particularly want to know what happens, ask and I'll answer.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this second chance that the delinquents got and how they were able to make the most of it. Thanks to those who stuck with my story and gave such wonderful comments, and kudos.
> 
> Everyone, please stay safe, and look after your neighbours!


	35. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It is five years since the bunker doors were opened and this is a little peak into the lives of the various characters.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is the mention of miscarriage in this chapter but it does not go into details. I hope no-one is too upset by it, and I am sorry if anyone is.

Five years after the doors officially opened Clarke and Roan were holding each other as they cried together. Clarke had just been discharged from the med centre after suffering her second miscarriage. This one was more devastating than the first, she had only been nine weeks pregnant the previous time, but Clarke had carried this baby, another daughter, for 18 weeks; and only the day before she began to bleed, Roan had commented on Clarke’s little bump. 

“Perhaps we should just be grateful for the wonderful gift of our three and not ask for more” Clarke said.

“We don’t ask for more” Roan corrected. “We hope for more but leave it to the will of the gods. I don’t know why we have lost two precious gifts, perhaps the gods got it a little wrong, but there is no reason to think that we won’t be blessed again.”

“I don’t know if I want to risk going through this again” Clarke said. “I saw that she was a perfect little girl: our perfect little girl. Another younger sister for Jake to boss around and we lost her!”

“I know, niron, I know” Roan could do nothing but hold his love tight as they both mourned the loss.

“No, Ro, no!” Rory declared to her friend Rona.

“Ror, peeze! Rona begged.

Octavia thought that it might be time to step in before her daughter stomped right over that line of friendship. “’Rora, Rona played at duelling with you so now it’s your turn to play roly-poly with her. Don’t forget that Rona also has to practice duelling with Jake and Ash so sometimes needs to play something else.”

Aurora put her hands on her hips and appeared to be ready to state that she was not going to play roly-poly before Rona declared “’sokay. I pay roly-poly wiv Gus” and wandered off leaving Aurora to wonder what happened.

“I am ashamed of you Aurora. You promised Rona that you would play roly-poly with her if she played duelling with you first. You broke your promise and that is very bad. We will go home now and tell stories.”

Aurora knew that her momma’s tone meant she should not argue or it would be alone time. “Stories Ben?” she asked looking at the bump that meant a baby was growing in her tummy.

“Yes, we can tell stories to Ben. We can tell him about the other Ben who was so good with horses, how much the other Ben loved horses and the horses loved Ben. Do you think our Ben will love the horses?” Octavia asked her daughter, pleased to have diverted her from her potential tantrum.

“Momma, if Bruno is my brother, why does he live with Anya and not us?” Hope asked her mom Charmaine.

“Because Anya is his momma just like I am yours. You both had the same papa, the one who died when he tried to kill the Commander a long time ago. That’s one of the reasons Anya and I are such good friends. We want you and Bruno to grow up and know each other as family. Is that okay?”

“Yeah, but should we move to Eden or Anya and Bruno move here?”

“Anya is the leader of Trikru so she has to live in Trikru lands in Eden, but if you really wanted, when you’re a little older we could move there” Charmaine offered.

“Maybe, but I won’t see Ash so much if we move, will I? And she might choose someone else to be her best friend.”

“No, baby which is why we’ll wait to make the decision. In the meantime, you can speak to Bruno and Anya on the radio and we’ll still visit them and they’ll still visit us every year.”

“Who are you going to choose to be the next Fleimkeepa, Titus?” the Commander asked. “Costia thought that Gaia was the obvious choice but you may feel different. Aiden also admires Gaia and he is the one who will have the greater dealings with the next keepa.”

“I believe that Gaia will make an admirable successor to me” Titus proclaimed as pompous as ever. “I do believe that it is unwise of you to declare that you will hand over the reins at the same time that a new Fleimkeepa is needed” Titus said for seemed to be the hundredth time.

“I think it right that each Commander should have only one Fleimkeepa and each Fleimkeepa should serve only one Commander. Aiden doesn’t necessarily agree with me but has promised that he will honour my choice. I do not think it right that he should not be able to celebrate his ascension to Commander because he will be mourning my death. The Ascension should always be a matter for celebration. He has also said that he doesn’t think that he should have children even if he should bond with someone.” Lexa sounded sad at that thought: Aiden would be so good with children.

“The nightbleedas that he helps nurture will be his children. It is the correct choice for him” Titus reassured the Commander.

“I think that you are right in that, Titus. I believe he is in love with someone from Northernkru who he does not think will move to Eden to live with him and so has decided not to pursue her.”

Titus knew the Commander was correct. “She does visit frequently, though. It is enough for Aiden, but I am not sure how Hermione feels about it.”

The Commander smiled: she should have known that Titus would exactly who it was that Aiden was in love with. “Hermione enjoys her time with us and can appreciate our many qualities; but she is definitely not a member of the kongeda. However, she is very good at getting people to relax and talk to her or in her presence and let things slip. Because she discovered the Shallow Valley dissatisfaction with sharing Eden so equally, we were able to stop it taking root and spreading. Their leaders understood the point that if the clans didn’t share everything equally then Shallow Valley would have received no places in the bunkers since they would have all gone to Trikru and Azgeda because it was within their lands that the bunkers stood. I think Luwoda enjoy being the hosts of the Northernkru hotel: hospitality is part of their tradition, after all.”

“Lotha has asked if she can formally be declared a non-contender for the position of Commander and take on the role of Aiden’s Senior Personal Guard. She remembers how close you were to Gustus and thinks it is important that the Commander and their Senior Personal Guard should be able to have complete and utter trust in one another. She thinks that Gustus’s betrayal of you was because he was not brought up to know that not all nightbleeders desire power.”

“I think it an excellent idea. Lotha is fiercely loyal but has no desire to lead our people, and would much rather serve. Try to encourage the others to decide how they could best serve the kongeda. Something that I think is unfair and very likely unnecessary, but I think we need to establish who would be Aiden’s successor if a new batch of novitiates is not ready. Maybe one could be nominated, and agree to become, a Regent, or perhaps they should be a successor. It is something I want us to think about and talk to Aiden before we discuss it with the other nightbleeders and the clans” the Commander said.

“Yes, much would depend on when Aiden lost his fight. It is something that we need to give thought to. We cannot risk leaving the kongeda without a legitimate heir, but neither do we want to lose valuable people to death too soon. I know it was something to which I was opposed, but I now perceive the wisdom of no longer using a conclave to choose the next commander.”

“What do you think, Jasper; should we try for a baby? I know you’re only 26 but I’m 27 and I’m not getting any younger and if we want two then we really should get started on that sooner rather than later” Maya said as she tried not to look desperate.

“Actually, that was something that I wanted to talk to you about” Jasper looked nervous. “Monty and I were talking …”

“As you frequently do” Maya interrupted.

“Yeah, anyway, Monty and I were both hoping that you and Harper would agree to try to have a child at the same time so they would hopefully be close in age and could grow up to be best friends.”

Maya thought for a moment and realised that there seemed to be only one aspect of having children that Jasper was bothered about. “So if I talk to Harper to try to time our conceptions to be close together you’ll be happy?” she asked to be sure.

“Yeah, it would be great if you can do that; and if you can arrange to have either both girls or both boys at the same time that would be even better: but I guess that’s too much to hope for” he sounded very down at that thought.

Maya didn’t say that they did have a way to control the sex of a baby but that Clarke and Jackson had said they didn’t want to go down that route unless it became necessary for population control. She didn’t think that this would be counted as an adequate excuse. Still, there were things they could do to try to encourage a particular gender and she would talk to Harper to hear what she thought. Maya told Jasper as much.

“That would be great! I promise, I’ll do everything you say if it will increase the odds of us having the same sex babies” Maya smiled at Jasper’s enthusiasm. She rather thought that they should try for daughters first. “I’m going to make the best drink ever for pregnant women – fruity, with a zesty bite since you can’t have alcohol, full of vitamins and minerals and I know once it has Clarke’s approval Gina will let us serve it at the bar.”

Maya thought that Clarke and Gina might wonder why Jasper had decided to make it now rather than earlier when he focussed all his attention on making the best alcoholic drinks. Then she realised that Clarke wouldn’t wonder since she knew Jasper so well, and Gina probably did, too. It would soon be all over that Jasper was expecting to be a father some time soon and no-one would have to say a word.

“No, we are not going to learn whether it’s a boy or a girl” Echo declared to her chosen. “I want it to be a surprise when the baby is born. I was glad to learn that there was only one baby and that everything appears to be perfectly normal; but that is all the information I want until we welcome him or her into this world.”

“But, Echo, Sweetheart” Wells cajoled; “if we knew what we were having we could find it so much easier to pick out a name.”

“You write up a list of ten boys’ names that you like and if it’s a boy, when he is born I will choose from that list. I will do the same for girls’ names for you to choose when she is born.”

“Is that how the people from Azgeda traditionally chose names for their children?” Wells asked.

“No, names were never discussed until after the baby was safely delivered. Too many babies were lost prior to birth for parents to want to invest in giving a name to one before they knew they would be safe” Echo explained. “As soon as something has a name, there is a bond.”

Wells understood and resolved to cease pushing Echo to discover the gender of their child but to discuss when or if they should try to have a second (he knew that Echo was older than he and that she may feel that she was too old to try to have another).

There was also the issue of his father: his dad had declared that he will not accept Wells’s relationship with ‘the savage’ nor will he acknowledge their child. It was something that he hoped would one day change. At least Abby acknowledged Jake, Ash and Rona as her grandchildren and tried to speak to them once a week to be a part of their lives, no matter how small.

Abby and Thelonious were worried: their people were not happy. Getting to the ground had always been their dream, but now they were here and they might as well have stayed on the Arc. The only difference was that there was no food, oxygen, water or medical shortages.

People wanted to live on the surface but there were no natural building materials nearby and they didn’t know how to make any. They would go to the surface to feel the breeze through their hair, but there was nothing to do and nothing to see except the unremitting desert. There seemed to be no point to anything anymore since they were not needed to save humanity.

Wells had told Thelonious about the hotel they had built in Eden that their people could visit for holidays. At first Abby thought the idea of going to stay with the savages for a holiday was preposterous. Now she wondered if they should to negotiate a similar arrangement for their people. She said as much to the Chancellor.

“I don’t see how we could negotiate with or trust those savages. And how would we get our people there and back again?” Thelonious argued.

“We trade” Abby suggested. “Surely we have to have something that those people would want: or if not with them then with Clarke and Wells so people could visit there.”

“I think too many would want to stay.”

Abby knew he was right. They already had one mass defection of Arkers and they still did not know how they exited the bunker or were able to make their way to Mt Orlan. But it did mean that they had very few lower station people to carry out the mundane tasks that they had previously taken for granted. When you had no laundry staff, you had to do your own washing: when you had too few cooks, you had to eat a lot of uncooked vegetables and boring easy to prepare dishes: when you had no tailors, you had to wear very roughly made clothes. The lower orders liked knowing that the work they did was valued as much as the work of the chief medical officer, or the chief engineer.

“We have to do something or we will die out” Abby argued. “We had just two children born last year, and so far there is only one pregnancy this year. Perhaps we can ask Wells for his advice, ask what it would take to get him to move back here?”

“Wells would only come back here if we were to accept his savage girlfriend and her spawn. Unless I was to pretend to accept them when he’s here we can banish her and her brat. They wouldn’t be able to last very long out there.”

It was at that point that Abby realised that her friend, her lover was past the point of safe return. “You can’t do that; Wells would never stand for it and it might lead to Clarke retaliating. When you speak to him next, ask how he thinks we can improve morale among our people; I’ll do the same when talking to Clarke” she suggested while she plotted to remove him from power.

Jonus Cray and his wife were eating their rations of carrots and soy, thinking about the food they enjoyed for the short time they stayed in Mt Orlan when they came down on the first shuttle after the death wave.

“We should have stayed with them” Freya said to her husband. “I would be able to make all sorts of craft items for people instead of being demoted to a janitor and you would be able to be a mechanic instead of a dogsbody.”

“Yeah, I know we would also have to do a share of the crap work, everyone did; it was the main thing to put me off wanting to stay with them when I heard how they organised themselves; but we would also have been able to do some enjoyable work. The thing is, how do we get out of here and get to them? Jaha seems to have cut off all communication between us and them.”

“I bet he still talks to his son and Dr Griffin to her daughter, though” Freya was more than a little bitter.

“I’m going to try to find a way to hack into the radio signal and call them. It’s got to be worth a try, right?” Jonus desperately asked his wife.

Freya thought about the possible consequences, and realised that they really had very little to lose: they weren’t really living; they were marking time until they died. “Go for it” she said.

“Well, what do you think?” Raven asked Luna as she proudly displayed the plane that she and Shaw had rebuilt from the shell they found in the remains of the Smithsonian museum.

“I think that if you think I am getting in that thing with you to fly across the world you are mad” Luna declared.

“No sense of adventure. We’ve already driven it along the ground, and shown that it can build up enough speed to take off” Raven looked at Luna and could see that she would not be budged. “Okay, then I’ll ask Emori if she wants to come up first with me.”

“I don’t think they’ll want to have half of the best mechanics up in that thing. Ask Bellamy or Roan” Luna suggested. “And since he used to fly these things, don’t you think that Shaw would be the best person to try if first?”

“Maybe he should be the one, but I want to. I’ll ask Bellamy: he won’t be scared and Roan won’t want anyone to know that he would be” Raven said. She didn’t add that it had been a while since she had spent any time with Bellamy and she missed him. He did have his hands full with two wives and six children so it was understandable that he wasn’t available to socialise much, but this was the perfect opportunity.

Bellamy was thrilled to take part in the inaugural flight of the small plane that it was hoped would prove to be a prototype for larger planes to be built in the future. A large crowd came out to watch the almost magical event of people flying in the sky like a bird.

“Ready Bellamy?” Raven asked as the excitement got to her.

“Go for it Rae” Bellamy enthused. “Let’s see what this bird has to offer.”

They taxied to the start of the runway and turned the plane. Raven checked that no-one was close enough to get burned by the thrusters and let go. In mere seconds they were leaving the ground and soaring up towards the clouds. They burst through the clouds to see the sky as the most beautiful shade of blue they could ever have imagined.

“You have got to bring Clarke up here to see this sky” Bellamy said. 

“No can do” Raven argued; “she would be forever trying to replicate that exact shade and I think such an impossible task will drive her nuts” as she knew that the open radio signal would be relaying their conversation to Clarke.

Bellamy could only agree.

Two minutes later they broke back through the cloud to head back home.

The landing was a little bumpy. Raven had never had to worry about landing something before but she knew she would improve with practice: and she was determined to be able to get in plenty of practice. Shaw was a trained pilot, (and didn’t she have to do some begging, cajoling and pulling rank to do this first flight instead of him) so he would also have the opportunity to take plenty of flights. Raven thought that Shaw should also give flying lessons to some of the others, too, so they had a bank of pilots.

Hopefully, now that they knew their schematic worked, they would soon (well, sometime within the next few years) have a small fleet of planes to fly to Eden for visits, and to go across the world looking for other survivors and resources.

“Do you think that we should agree to take on the responsibility?” Marcus asked Don.

“I think that it’s a great opportunity to look beyond that which we know, to be an explorer. I want to do it, but you need to talk to Liza about it. How will she feel about you potentially disappearing on her for at least a few weeks?”

“I think Liza will see it as an ideal opportunity for her to do something that would take her from here too. I think she would like to spend some time in Eden with Hermione and Aiden: take the opportunity to explore the plant life there and see if there are any plants we would benefit from having, too. Although she was Mecha station – which means she was predestined to work in engineering systems and Liza’s task was to clean out the air filters, she was always interested in botany and loved plants” Kane explained Liza’s situation in the Arc while giving him a little time to think. “Alright, if Liza is okay with me going across the strip then I’m with you. We take the rover and go up through Canada and Greenland to Russia for St Petersberg and Moscow for starters” Marcus agreed. It would be the longest planned trip yet and he was a little nervous that he was chosen for it.

‘You speak Russian, idiot’ he thought to himself. There was always the chance that there were survivors in bunkers and it would be helpful to be able to communicate with them. He thought about all the things that they might need to say and resolved to make sure he could make himself understood before they went: he had to look some things up because he hadn’t previously learned how to ask about radiation sickness and bone marrow transplants! He also knew that he and Don were asked because although they both had partners, he had Liza and Don and Molly had an intermittent relationship, none of them had children who would lose out by their father being gone for so long: additionally, Don was a wiz with the electronics, especially communications, which would be a plus.

Berndt was pleased that he had been asked to take flying lessons. Building the planes so that they could fly instead of driving everywhere was awesome, but learning to fly them too was beyond what he thought he would achieve, even once he made the move to America. 

Berndt knew that he was probably the happiest out of all the people who had joined the Northerners from Europe (except perhaps for Hermione who seemed to find great pleasure in everything now that she had turned her attention away from Roan), but he also knew that everyone else had settled and was happier than they had ever been in their lives. They had jobs, somewhere to go to get some ‘me time’ as Hermione calls is, and they could envision a future for their children. No one thought that they were just marking time anymore; they were all actually living now, with all the problems as well as privileges that entailed.

“So we are agreed, then” Marta said to Megan, “we talk to Maya about making sure we do not have any more babies: six is quite enough for one family.”

“Yes. Do you think Bellamy will be cross with us?” Megan asked.

“Of-course he will not be cross” Marta reassured her gentle twin. “I expect that he will want to come with us to make sure that nothing is done that could harm us, that is all.”

“So you definitely think we should tell him?” Megan wasn’t so sure that Bellamy needed to know that his wives were taking steps to make sure that they gave him no more children.

“Yes, this affects him too. We are his family and he has a right to know about what is happening with his family. Do not forget, he was brought up to believe that each woman should only have the one child so he was thrilled when we had our second, and our third. That we have six children is, I think, more than he ever thought he could have. Bellamy will not be cross with us, I promise.”

Marta was correct: in fact Bellamy apologised to his wives for not thinking about talking to them about the size of their family and taking steps to make sure everyone was happy with what they had. “Six children is far more than I ever thought I would be blessed with, so if six is the right number for you two to stop, then I say let’s go and talk pregnancy prevention with Maya. Think of the fun we can have once that is taken care of!”

Marta snorted while Megan blushed thinking of the type of fun Bellamy had in mind.

Finn wandered up to Bree and with a charmingly sheepish smile told her that he needed his own place.

“What, did she chuck you out again?” Bree asked the eternal philanderer.

“Yeah, Tessy is pregnant and I think that really put her over the edge” Finn sounded bewildered by the state of affairs.

“Why didn’t you make sure that Tessy had an implant? Jeepers, if you’re going to sleep around you have to check on these things” Bree was exasperated.

“I just assumed that if a woman was going to sleep with a man in a committed relationship that she would automatically take care of these things” Finn said. “She said that she wanted a child but she didn’t want to have a man hang around and get in the way! Why would she want that?”

“Probably because Tessy is gay. She and Nylah live together and Tessy probably drew the short straw. I guess they didn’t want to share custody with the biological father if they asked a gay male couple for assistance. I have no sympathy for you, Finn; you can’t seem to stick to anything, be it a woman or a job. Anyway, I’ll see what I can do: in the meantime, there’s a free bed in the male bunk room.”

Zoe Monroe was examining the proposed pasture for their sheep and cows. It wasn’t large enough to feed them all, in fact it won’t last more than a few weeks, she knew, but it was an important step in getting the animals used to being above ground again. For the time being, it would work more as an enclosure with the majority of the feed being brought up to them. The cows and sheep would be coming up soon, but first Zoe wanted to make sure that the pigs were all settled in their new outdoors home – they appeared to be happy rolling in the mud!

The chickens already had their outside area that included a covered barn of nesting boxes for them and the egg production was back to the previous high levels. The hens didn’t spend as much time outside as she thought they would – they probably preferred the warm dry barn, but at least now they had the choice.

Although it rained almost every day, the rivers and reservoir had still to take shape. They now had mud at the bottom of the river bed so perhaps it wouldn’t be too long before they also had rivers, or at least streams: but in the meantime, Josh, assisted by Engineering Apprentice Ito (who was watched by his adoring girlfriend, Madi), was building a lined river to meander around their village with a pump to mimic the movement of a natural river so that they could try to bring some of the fish outside, too.

Although it would have been so much better if they could have hidden in the bunker for the five years and then just moved out once that time was up, Zoe found she actually enjoyed the challenge of the long term planning of the move of the animals to the surface. The only issue she had is that no one wanted to agree to bringing the goats up because they were a nightmare to control; but they would do that too, eventually. It would be a long time, though before they would be able to release the deer to roam through the woods and by then they probably would be fairly well domesticated.

So far, and fingers crossed that it continued to be the case, there seemed to be no predators that had survived the death wave for them to worry about, except for people, and the good ones were currently in the majority and had all the strength: Zoe hoped it would continue thus, but she did worry about the silence from the Arkers: nothing good ever came from a quiet Arc Chancellor and Council.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A hint of a cliff hanger!
> 
> At some point I will probably write another epilogue set another five years into the future. Let me know if there is anyone you want me to mention then.


End file.
